Nielsen ratings on lgbtq
What are the most popular TV shows in same-sex households? Nielsen has the answers
Nielsen measures TV viewership by all kinds of folks, from kids to 55-plus, African-Americans and Asian-Americans. Now insert same-sex households to the mix.
In a first, the ratings service, in conjunction with advocacy collective GLAAD, has begun measuring viewership in households with homosexual couples, either spouses or unmarried partners. And initial results vary widely from the population at large, with some surprises.
For the first week of the official TV season, ending Sept. 30, the top show series among all viewers were "Manifest," "The Big Bang Theory," "NCIS" and "This Is Us."
But in same-sex homes, CBS revival "Murphy Brown" was the most popular display, by a significant margin, with about 14 percent of an estimated 2.5 million TV households watching. It was followed by "Manifest," "American Horror Story" and "This Is Us."
More: Modern GLAAD study finds record number of LGBTQ characters on broadcast TVNeed a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle.Other prime-time shows preferred in same-sex homes but absent from the Top 20 among all viewers for premiere week were ABC's "Mode
Nielsen’s First LGBTQ Ratings Describe Is Here, and Male lover Viewers Love ‘Game of Thrones’
Nielsen has released its first ever ratings describe for same gender households, ushering in a landmark shift in the way the industry views LGBTQ audiences. Nielsen announced the updates to its viewership tracking practices last plunge, but today marks the first ratings report resulting from the change. HBO’s “Game of Thrones” was the most popular cable series with same sex households, with “The Rachel Maddow Show” coming in a distant second.
In November of 2018, Nielsen announced it was working closely with GLAAD in direct to identify same-sex loved one households as part of a “mission to demonstrate important demographic characteristics.” “As the media marketplace continues to evolve, our clients are increasingly looking to better understand consumers of all types to effectively reach new and singular audiences,” said Nielsen VP Brian Fuhrer at the time, indicating that networks were asking for more detailed information.
“We will carry on to invest in ways to ensure our world-class TV panel reflects the true diversity of the c
Beyond Pride Month: Building your brand with LGBTQ+ consumers
In many countries around the world, Pride months take a rainbow wave of brands showcasing their assist of the LGBTQ+ people. While these efforts possess been both praised and criticized, Nielsen research shows LGBTQ+ consumers are start to brand engagement that’s authentic and inclusive.
But what does authentic, inclusive mark engagement look like?
According to Nielsen 2024 Annual Marketing Report, 70% of marketers reported planning to prioritize performance marketing over brand-building initiatives this year. With marketing dollars at a premium, brands need to understand where and how to invest to gain the good will of the LGBTQ+ community and demonstrate inclusivity well beyond June.
Investing in inclusive advertising and content
Not surprisingly, audiences like to see themselves in the content and ads they watch. In fact, Nielsen research shows that 42% of U.S. adults say it makes them more likely to buy from a identity when they are represented in a campaign1. But among LGBTQ+ audiences, 63% feel their identity organization is misrepresented in media.
63% of LGBTQ audiences touch their identity group i
Reconnecting with LGBTQ+ audiences
Joining in Pride celebrations each June is one opportunity for marketers to build their connections with LGBTQ+ communities. But building brand reliance and loyalty with Diverse consumers requires support beyond Pride Month.
There’s a notable desire among LGBTQ+ communities for accurate and real representation in the media content and advertising they engage with. Nielsen numbers shows a clear picture; a substantial 63% of LGBTQ+ audiences in the U.S. feel misrepresented across media1. On top of that, 60% of these audiences say they long more representation when consuming content2. These responses signal a strong disconnect between media coverage and lived experiences among queer communities.
Understanding these needs leaves the opportunity wide open for savvy marketers to extend their reputation to unlock new consumer pathways and long-term brand loyalty from LGBTQ+ audiences. In evidence, our 2025 Nielsen Annual Marketing Report indicated that building upper-funnel brand insight was the top ranking priority among North American marketers, and 56% indicated they use brand equity to determine brand health (higher than any other metric)
Nielsen study of foremost 1,500 TV shows finds 78% incorporate some race or LGBTQ diversity — but the quality of portrayals varies widely between culture groups
Nielsen's latest analyze, "Being Seen on Screen: The Importance of Quantity and Quality Representation on TV," which examines the top 1,500 shows from the 2020-2021 television season, may look appreciate a good inform card for visibility in Hollywood: It found that 78% of those shows "have some presence of racial, ethnic, or sexual orientation diversity."
But the state, obtained exclusively by Insider, is swift to point out disparities within that broader statistic that highlight the uneven path to programming that reflects the lived experiences of viewers from underrepresented groups.
For example, when ranking share of screentime among the broadcasters, cablers, and subscription video-on-demand services, the Nielsen inform found a 22.1% share of Hispanic and Latinx voice on broadcast TV, compared to 3.6% on cable and 8.5% on streaming platforms.
But there's a caveat, said Nielsen's senior vice president of diverse insights and initiatives, Stacie de Armas: "Specifically, it looks prefer the majority of that represen