Broadcasters, ignoring recent census data showing the country is aging rapidly, are trotting out new programming this fall geared at younger and younger audiences.

The new slate of shows being produced are as much a reflection of networks’ reliance on tried-and-true formulas as they are demands of advertisers, who are wielding increasing power over programming, industry observers said.

“There is a recognition that the country is getting older,” said Alan Wurtzel, president of research at NBC. “To go after the younger audience is going against the demographics of the country, and people are recognizing it. But it’s hard to change. These (TV networks) are large bureaucracies with their behavior. They must think this approach is most beneficial.”

Consider CBS, the network with the oldest viewing audience. Its fall 2001 lineup will include law series “The Guardian” and CIA drama “The Agency” in place of “Diagnosis Murder” and “Nash Bridges,” canceled shows that had appealed to an older demographic.

Similarly, ABC has opted to cut “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?” back from four to two shows a week after research indicated that its audience began to skew older.

But that aging audience merely reflects what’s happening to the overall U.S. population.

According to census figures released in mid-May, more than 82.8 million people fell between the baby boomer ages of 35 and 54, up 32 percent from 10 years ago. And these aging adults have more discretionary income, longer life spans and a greater youthful vigor than the same age group 15 to 20 years ago. At the same time, the number of young adults, those between 20 and 34, dropped from 62.2 million to 58.8 million in the past 10 years.

Yet despite those trends, programmers remain steadfastly fixated on relatively young viewers.

Targeting the broad 18-to-49 age group originated when television first began, Wurtzel pointed out. In those days, people started families in their mid-20s. Today, people start families in their 30s and 40s, and those in their 50s still spend money like they did 10 to 15 years ago even though they fall off the advertisers’ target age range.

Today’s 50-somethings also feel and act a lot younger than the 50-somethings of a few decades back. They live longer. They spend more money. And they watch more TV shows traditionally aimed at younger viewers.

“The baby boomers see themselves as younger than they are,” said Andy Russem, executive vice president and senior account director at New York advertising agency BBDO. “At 47, I feel a lot younger than my father felt at 47. I listen to more contemporary, or youth, music. I see movies to a greater extent, and I see TV shows geared toward a younger audience. I don’t think I’m peculiar in that. While they’ve physically aged, intellectually and emotionally they have not aged quite as quickly as their parents did.”

As a result, advertisers are not demanding shows for the older generation. And they still want to see younger audiences because they know young people are more likely to live in a household with more than two people.

While census numbers put the traditional family married couples and their children at less than 25 percent of the population, a 55-year-old couple with no children still will buy less toothpaste, said Tom Watson, vice president and director of research at Los Angeles-based Initiative Media North America.

Advertisers also recognize that younger viewers are more likely to build brand loyalty.

“It’s easier, even though less efficient with programming, because advertising is still reaching people as they begin to solidify product choices and sets of options within product categories,” Russem said.

Broadcast networks are also scrambling to keep from losing audience share to cable, which “narrowcasts” to more focused viewership, a large portion of which are in their teens and 20s.

“Some (advertisers) can afford to be niche, but for a lot of products it’s a huge number of eyeballs simultaneously that they want,” Wurtzel said. “What cable does is appeal over a long period of time to, say, 1 million people. But it takes 20 nights to do that. You can get 20 million people watching ‘West Wing’ in an hour.”