In a study by Nielsen, who is well known for their industry standard weekly TV ratings, the company says that the answer is both yes and no.  They say that while some people do respond to different shows, based on their ideology, there are many shows that had a high level of bi-partisan response (or “engagement” as Nielsen calls it).

Programs with high bi-partisan engagement included “The Cleaner” and “Real Housewives of the OC,” while Republican-engaging shows included “South Park” andf “Cash Cab” and Democratic-engaging shows “The Colbert Report” and “Deadliest Catch.”

One thing I notice about the bi-partisan category is it’s largely filled with “reality television” shows.  I find these typically don’t cater to a certain audience, but usually get a pretty wide audience.  There’s also no overt political tones to them, since after all, they are “reality shows.”  The other type of show largely represented here are fictional shows with religious or crime-fighting themes.  Both pretty bi-partisan issues.

On the Republican side, South Park was no surprise, though it does get a pretty wide audience, both liberal and conservative.  Yet, South Park is made by a couple of libertarians, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, so it’s not surprising at all.  In fact, looking up “South Park Republican” on Wikipedia is how I discovered Andrew Sullivan’s blog.

What was a surprise on that list is Doctor Who.  Really? I love Doctor Who, and yet I’ve honestly never seen much that pulls me in one way or another ideologically.  Well, maybe the closest I’ve seen is one instance where the Doctor exclaims “It’s political correctness gone mad” in the 3rd series episode “The Shakespeare Code” when Martha Jones gets offended by Shakespeare’s description of her as a “queen of Afric” and “blackamoor” (he wasn’t being racist, he liked her).  Still…anyone get this one at all?

On the Democratic side, Colbert is a no-brainer.  He may play a Republican on his show, but it’s no haven for those values.  I’ve never heard of “My Boys” or “I Love New York” and am not sure how to explain “Ax Men”, “Tin Man”, or “Deadliest Catch” except that the former and latter appear on educational-type channels and the other features a lot of young people in its cast.  Maybe that’s the reason.

It’s an interesting study, though I have some nitpicks with it, as I’ve written about above.  What say all of you?