Editor's Corner

Fox Television canceled its primetime teen soap opera "The OC" this week after four seasons, although it ceased being relevant at least two years ago. Briefly a bona fide blockbuster, the show's Nielsen ratings hit the skids at the beginning of season two and never recovered. In its inaugural 2003 season "The OC" was the top-rated drama among viewers ages 12 to 34, but the demographic in question proved typically mercurial, quickly abandoning the show amidst schedule changes and creative struggles. Of course, "The OC" is far from the only pop cultural phenomenon chewed up and spit out by the youth market in a matter of months--just ask Vanilla Ice the next time he takes your order at McDonald's. In fact, the question isn't why its core audience abandoned "The OC" so abruptly. It's why the entertainment industry so doggedly pursues a demographic consistent only in its fickleness.

Mobile content is no different: This week, Sprint announced a deal with MTV Networks to deliver video clips from its teen cable channel The N to wireless handsets, another in a long line of mobile entertainment agreements expressly targeted to the sought-after youth demographic. But why is it so sought-after in the first place? Consider a recent New York Times article citing survey data compiled by the Recording Industry Association of America, which reports that listeners ages 45 and older now account for 25.5 percent of all music sales. On the other hand, listeners between the ages of 10 and 24 represent less than 12 percent of overall revenues. But while record labels actively court older consumers with content tailored to their tastes, assembling all-star Tony Bennett duets collections, negotiating rumored Police reunion tours and transforming Rod Stewart into a romantic standards balladeer, its mobile content partners remain fixated with 18-to-24-year-olds to the point of unhealthy obsession.

That needs to change. The mobile content business model is fundamentally flawed--why target youth consumers with their limited incomes and inscrutable behaviors when the real money lies in the 77-million-strong baby boomer market? More than half of boomers are now in their fifties, and according to any number of studies, they represent the demographic with the most cash to spare and spend. But with little or none of the content on carrier decks geared to their wants and needs, they're not spending any of it on mobile entertainment. So instead of pondering the demise of "The OC," perhaps we should consider the longevity of boomer-approved series like "Law & Order" or "CSI" and how their formulas for success might be replicated in a mobile context. Everything old can be new again. - Jason