- Mark Dolliver

New TV shows have a tough time getting early traction with busy professional people, to judge from the results of a poll for AdweekMedia among members of LinkedIn. Still, about half of the poll's participants acknowledge having been engaged by at least one of the season's new programs.

LinkedIn members were asked, "How many of this season's new TV shows have caught your interest?" Overall, 10 percent of those responding to the poll said "three or more" shows had done so, with another 42 percent saying "one or two" had. Thirty-five percent said "none" had engaged their attention, while 11 percent declared (proudly, one suspects), "I don't watch TV." One caveat: The online poll was first posted in late October, and the bulk of respondents gave their answers in its early weeks. (For complete results of the poll, click here. And to participate in a new ad-related poll for AdweekMedia, click here.)

The poll's men were less receptive than the women to this season's new shows: 42 percent of the former, vs. 30 percent of the latter, said none of the new programming had caught their interest. On the other hand, women were slightly more likely than men to say they simply don't watch TV (10 percent vs. 8 percent).

Being less jaded than their elders by decades of TV-viewing, are young adults more likely to give a season's new shows a fair try? Just slightly, according to this poll. Fifty-four percent of the 18-24-year-olds said at least one new show had caught their interest. That's on a par with the 52 percent of 25-34-year-olds, 50 percent of 35-54s and 48 percent of 55-plusers saying the same. The 18-24s and 25-34s were the most likely to say they don't watch TV (13 percent of each cohort, vs. 9 percent of the 35-54s and 11 percent of the 55-plusers).

The two younger age groups were somewhat less likely than the older cohorts to say none of the new shows caught their interest. Thirty-three percent of the 18-24s and 35 percent of the 25-34s said this was the case, vs. 41 percent of the 35-54s and the same proportion of the 55-plusers.

Apparently business owners have better things to do than check out the new TV offerings. Fifty-one percent of owners said they've been engaged by none of the new shows, vs. 43 percent of those in "C-level and vp" posts and 37 percent of those in "management" roles.

Some shows got positive mention from a number of people who offered comments along with their votes. Among these shows were Shark Tank, FlashForward, Community, Modern Family, Cougar Town and Glee.

One commenter described Glee as "completely addictive," adding that "I find myself humming songs midweek that I really shouldn't be." Another offered an equation in which "Community & Modern Life = a funny, funny night." While one commenter praised FlashForward as "awesome," another said he tried to watch it but "was so bored after half an hour. Death, destruction, 2012, apocalypse, blah, blah, can we please move on."

Several people seized the opportunity to disparage TV in general, including one who termed it "the opiate of the masses." One remarked, "Have a feeling I waste time when I watch TV," and another said "we don't have time for TV." Then again, these anti-TVists did find the time to take the poll and make a comment on it.

See also: "TV's Popularity on the Rise"