TV Broadcasters Bet on Men to Help Save Declining Ratings

Prime time isn't normally the place advertisers target young men. Broadcast viewers are predominantly female -- even more so when sports is excluded. No wonder the major TV networks have churned out series after series starring powerful and quirky female leads. But the success of male-skewing cable hits like "The Walking Dead" and "Breaking Bad" has given broadcasters a renewed focus on men to strike a better balance between the genders.

On the slate this fall season, which kicks off soon, are male-centric comedies like Fox's "Dads," "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" and CBS's "We Are Men"; genre series like ABC's "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D" and the CW's "Tomorrow People"; along with gritty dramas like NBC's "The Blacklist" and the retread "Ironside." The hope is that men will help halt the broadcast-ratings decline: The networks collectively lost about 8% of their audience last season. Fox relinquished its No. 1 spot as the most-watched broadcaster among adults 18 to 49 to CBS, while ABC came in last place among the Big Four in the demo.