REPORT CARD: ABC Family and CW gets “Excellent” rating in GLAAD Index!

The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation today released its fifth annual Network Responsibility Index, a report that maps the quantity, quality and diversity of images of LGBT people on television. Primetime programming on the five broadcast networks was evaluated as well as original primetime programming on 10 major cable networks.

ABC Family became the second network in the NRI’s history to earn an “Excellent” rating from GLAAD.  Of its 103 hours of original primetime programming, 55% included LGBT-inclusive images which also reflected the ethnic and racial diversity of the LGBT community. It is notable that both ABC Family and MTV, which in 2010 received the first-ever “Excellent” rating from GLAAD, are both youth-oriented networks.

“As television audiences get to know our community and the common ground that we all share on the screen and in their own lives, acceptance is growing,” said Mike Thompson, Acting President of GLAAD. “Inclusive programming is a hit with critics and audiences alike who cheered for Kurt and Blaine’s romance on Glee or watched the wedding of Callie and Arizona on Grey’s Anatomy.”

“Programs like Pretty Little Liars and Greek have woven gay, lesbian, and bisexual characters into their stories in a way that mirrors the diversity of our community and the experiences of younger generations,” said Herndon Graddick, Senior Director of Programs at GLAAD. “Viewers expect to see television environments that accurately reflect what it’s like to be a young adult, and today that includes young adults who happen to be gay.”


Broadcast Networks:
-       The CW remains the top broadcast network with 33% of its primetime programming hours being LGBT-inclusive. Fox came in second at 29%, and both networks received a “Good” rating this year.

-       ABC remained in third place in terms of its percentage of LGBT-inclusive programming hours (23%). ABC received a “Good” rating because of the strong quality of its LGBT images, and the network broadcast the greatest total number of LGBT-inclusive hours (253).

      CBS remained in last place with 10% LGBT-inclusive hours of primetime programming.  After receiving their second “Failing” score in a row last year, however, they improved enough to receive an “Adequate” score this year.

“CBS showed the most improvement of any broadcast network, however we continue to urge them to address the problems and deficiencies in their representation of our community, and hope their forward momentum will soon have them catching up with the other broadcast networks,” Graddick said.


The full report can be downloaded here: www.glaad.org/nri.