Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To describe programming themes and the inclusion of adolescents in the base audience for television channels with high levels of energy drink advertising airtime. DESIGN: Secondary analysis of energy drink advertising airtime over US network and cable television channels (n = 139) from March, 2012 to February, 2013. Programming themes and the inclusion of adolescents in each channel's base audience were extracted from cable television trade reports. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Energy drink advertising airtime. ANALYSIS: Channels were ranked by airtime; programming themes and the inclusion of adolescents in the base audience were summarized for the 10 channels with the most airtime. RESULTS: Over the study year, 36,501 minutes (608 hours) were devoted to energy drink advertisements; the top 10 channels accounted for 46.5% of such airtime. Programming themes for the top 10 channels were music (n = 3), sports (n = 3), action-adventure lifestyle (n = 2), African American lifestyle (n = 1), and comedy (n = 1). MTV2 ranked first in airtime devoted to energy drink advertisements. Six of the 10 channels with the most airtime included adolescents aged 12-17 years in their base audience. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: Energy drink manufacturers primarily advertise on channels that likely appeal to adolescents. Nutritionists may wish to consider energy drink media literacy when advising adolescents about energy drink consumption.