Who is the Majority fan group for the show?

[Unity 332]

I was wondering if the Majority of MLP fans were small kids or older fans?

[Cash In 22,189]

It really depends on where you draw the line between ''small kids'' and ''older fans''. I'm still willing to bet that children are the largest audience.

[Will Guide 21,359]

It's mostly grown males in their 20s, according to a study held in around 2014 Documentary "A Brony's Tale" featuring Ashliegh Ball.

[Unity 332]

Just now, Cash In said:

Not too sure. Depends what ages you mean in terms of small kids. 

There are tons of users on this forum. If that's any indication, I don't think there are any 'small kids' here. They probably wouldn't know too much about using forums and such. 

That also makes it difficult, as I often see many small kids with MLP merchandise at the stores. 

So, I'm gonna jump the guns and say most fans are older. I'm not too sure however. 

 

By small kids I mean 8 and under

Maybe Hasbro can listen to the fans and make some requested changes to the show

[Nightfall Gloam 18,258]

I'd say most of the fans who identify as Bronies are probably males and females between the ages of 15-30... As for everyone else, probably 8 year old children, most of which I'd doubt would be members of the forums or know much about the fandom.

[Narcissus 354]

Probably older fans more than kids. The show is eight years old now so most kids watching it now weren't even old enough to know what they were watching when the show premiered. The kids who started with the show's first season are now young adults, and the adults who were there at the beginning are now older adults, so yeah, more adults than kids definitely.

[Tacodidra 61,040]

It also depends on how you define fans. Is it enough to just watch the show or do you have to be passionate about it? I think more teenage and adult fans are in the latter group. On the other hand, kids tend to watch and enjoy most cartoons, at least up to a certain age, even if they prefer some shows to others. As such, I think a lot of the child audience could be considered casual fans. It's hard to say without specific statistics, but I think there might be more kids watching, while the older audience is likely to have a higher level of interest in the show.

[Lambdadelta 1,462]

I dont treat some 8-year-old kids as the true fan, they are just very large 'customers'. Kids can enjoy anything but only older viewers can make a big deal out of it. For me, we bronies are the majority fan of this show who truly passionate about this show and let people know about it, we are the true face of this show, small kids are just the majority 'income', the driving force of the show's longevity. 

[Jeric 46,850]

Largest Fandom Age Block 18+

Largest Consumers Age Block 10 and under

 

Kids still represent the largest percentage of the viewing audience, and their parents still represent the largest percentage of merchandise consumer. 

And 8 year old is still a fan, but not necessarily a member of the fandom itself. There is a lot of categorization and compartmentalization in this type of question. 

[Unity 332]

2 hours ago, Lambdadelta said:

I dont treat some 8-year-old kids as the true fan, they are just very large 'customers'. Kids can enjoy anything but only older viewers can make a big deal out of it. For me, we bronies are the majority fan of this show who truly passionate about this show and let people know about it, we are the true face of this show, small kids are just the majority 'income', the driving force of the show's longevity. 

Yea I agree, most kids blindly follow or like somethings for no reason so they arnt true fans

[Lucky Bolt 35,061]

I'd say the majority of diehard MLP fans are older teenagers and young adults...including myself. 

[Divine plywood 1,239]

11 hours ago, Tacodidra said:

It also depends on how you define fans. Is it enough to just watch the show or do you have to be passionate about it? I think more teenage and adult fans are in the latter group. On the other hand, kids tend to watch and enjoy most cartoons, at least up to a certain age, even if they prefer some shows to others. As such, I think a lot of the child audience could be considered casual fans. It's hard to say without specific statistics, but I think there might be more kids watching, while the older audience is likely to have a higher level of interest in the show.

Damn it Taco, this is the second time you took the words right out of my mouth  Adult fans are definitely more active and visible part of MLP's fanbase, but children are at least as large and important group as bronies. Writers have stated several times that they don't really think adult fans that often when making the show. For them and Hasbro this is still cartoon for kids, as it should be. We are only a pleasant bonus. Show haven't really changed since first season, it's still made very much the same way than before brony phenomenon formed. Only ways bronies have influenced to it's writing style are few subtle nods toward adult fans. One of them being the name 'Flutterguy' becoming canon. As we saw in case of Big Mac and Sugar Belle, writers don't feel obligated to listen fandom's wishes when it comes to plot of the show. ( This particular ignorance of fan favorite ship left however bad taste in my mouth. This would have been easy way to deliver fan service long wished for. Team Cheerilee forever! )

There is also only one kind of merchandise, not two separate toy lines for different age groups. Again, imagine Hasbro's deligtment when they realised back in 2011 that these weird grown ups buy same pink plushies than small kids. If bronies would indeed be more important focus group, there would be spin-offs of some sort for older fans. Hasbro decided to create Equestria girls instead, show even more obviously targeted to younger audience.

 

Edit:

There were some fake news in this post. As I was later informed, bronies and adult fans have been used directly as inspiration in some episodes. There is also vast selection of merchs designed for older audience. This Plywood dude sure is full of BS.

Edited January 24, 2018 by Divine plywood

[Jeric 46,850]

3 hours ago, Divine plywood said:

Damn it Taco, this is the second time you took the words right out of my mouth  Adult fans are definitely more active and visible part of MLP's fanbase, but children are at least as large and important group as bronies. Writers have stated several times that they don't really think adult fans that often when making the show. For them and Hasbro this is still cartoon for kids, as it should be. We are only a pleasant bonus. Show haven't really changed since first season, it's still made very much the same way than before brony phenomenon formed. Only ways bronies have influenced to it's writing style are few subtle nods toward adult fans. One of them being the name 'Flutterguy' becoming canon. As we saw in case of Big Mac and Sugar Belle, writers don't feel obligated to listen fandom's wishes when it comes to plot of the show. ( This particular ignorance of fan favorite ship left however bad taste in my mouth. This would have been easy way to deliver fan service long wished for. Team Cheerilee forever! )

There is also only one kind of merchandise, not two separate toy lines for different age groups. Again, imagine Hasbro's deligtment when they realised back in 2011 that these weird grown ups buy same pink plushies than small kids. If bronies would indeed be more important focus group, there would be spin-offs of some sort for older fans. Hasbro decided to create Equestria girls instead, show even more obviously targeted to younger audience.

I agree with how that starts off, but there are a few details that you got slightly wrong. 

At least one major episode was ordered to be done by Hasbro specifically for the adult fans, as confirmed by that episode's writer who was against the idea at first. The writer eventually conceded and gathered ideas from the Brony created character Wikia. One episode in Season 6 was influenced strongly by the writer and staff experiences at Pony Conventions, which are more populated by the adult fans. One episode in Season 7 was influenced directly by the interactions of the show writers and staff with the adult fans. To say that the majority of the show is done without accounting for the adult fans is possibly more accurate, but to suggest there is no influence and/or no fan desires have influenced the show is no longer correct. It was by Season 4, but not anymore. 

As far as merchandise, it's important to account for the licensed merchandise, some of which is made or authorized with the adult fans in mind. The examples are to large to name. The CCG, Hot Topic exclusive Funkos, the Diamond Select banks, select IDW collectables, We Love Fine merch, and SDCC exclusives are examples of merch that was created for adult fans. 

 

[Prospekt 11,018]

I think the majority of people who watch the show are still kids, primarily girls between the ages of 3 and 12. But the vast majority of fan-made content comes from people in their teens and younger adults in the their 20s, both male and female. Sure, kids watch MLP. But we older fans are the ones who analyze it, run & attend conventions, make fan art, write fan fiction, and, due to the 13 year old age limit, discuss it on this forum.

[The Kaeya Simp 13,988]

Bronies (yes we are the largest portion of the fans)

[Divine plywood 1,239]

49 minutes ago, Jeric said:

but there are a few details that you got slightly wrong. 

I stand corrected. My knowlege about merchs is highly dated, as proved. When it comes to episodes influenced by fandom, you are right as well. In fact, after your corrections I remembered that there is at least one more episode which making fans have participated. Season 3 episode "Keep calm and Flutter on" original story was from 15-year old brony Teddy Antonio.

Thanks for the fact check!

[Unity 332]

6 hours ago, Divine plywood said:

Damn it Taco, this is the second time you took the words right out of my mouth  Adult fans are definitely more active and visible part of MLP's fanbase, but children are at least as large and important group as bronies. Writers have stated several times that they don't really think adult fans that often when making the show. For them and Hasbro this is still cartoon for kids, as it should be. We are only a pleasant bonus. Show haven't really changed since first season, it's still made very much the same way than before brony phenomenon formed. Only ways bronies have influenced to it's writing style are few subtle nods toward adult fans. One of them being the name 'Flutterguy' becoming canon. As we saw in case of Big Mac and Sugar Belle, writers don't feel obligated to listen fandom's wishes when it comes to plot of the show. ( This particular ignorance of fan favorite ship left however bad taste in my mouth. This would have been easy way to deliver fan service long wished for. Team Cheerilee forever! )

There is also only one kind of merchandise, not two separate toy lines for different age groups. Again, imagine Hasbro's deligtment when they realised back in 2011 that these weird grown ups buy same pink plushies than small kids. If bronies would indeed be more important focus group, there would be spin-offs of some sort for older fans. Hasbro decided to create Equestria girls instead, show even more obviously targeted to younger audience.

Thanks, when I had made this thread I was hoping for an answer like this.

P.S. ships make me sick

[Divine plywood 1,239]

@donttellmum Please, please don't quote that post as it is without clarifying what part of it you are talking about. It's filled with factual errors as have been previously proved. My facts weren't up to date and many parts of that text is plain wrong as Jeric pointed out above. Bronies have indeed influenced to show's scripts in some occasion both directly and undirectly. And there is large selection of toys and collectibles targeted for older fans. I should probably edit that post and strikethrough every line that is false.

So, what specific part of my error infested post are you talking about?

[Jeric 46,850]

2 hours ago, Divine plywood said:

I stand corrected. My knowlege about merchs is highly dated, as proved. When it comes to episodes influenced by fandom, you are right as well. In fact, after your corrections I remembered that there is at least one more episode which making fans have participated. Season 3 episode "Keep calm and Flutter on" original story was from 15-year old brony Teddy Antonio.

Thanks for the fact check!

That all said, the general idea of what you were talking about is correct. That's the most important part. The writer's own personal interests and the target audience (kids) are far and away the biggest factor of each episode and dialog snippet. It is actually what makes the show really special when you consider how deep it can been at times for us older fans. 

1 hour ago, donttellmum said:

P.S. ships make me sick

How old do you think fan crafted romances are? You make it sound like a recent invention, so I'm curious as to origin of your aversion to other fan's personal predilections. My Grandmother was shipping Ashley and Scarlet before my mother was even born, so that statement puzzles me.  

Not sure if it was meant to get a rise or not, but now I have an opportunity to give others some great ammunition against similar complaints levied at them going forward, so I thank you. 

Shipping is as old as stories have had romances that didn't go the way a reader wanted. It's also absurdly common, though it takes many many other names and comes out as different statements like, "She is no good for him", "This girl was perfect for John!"

Read books, they make you smert.

[Lambdadelta 1,462]

12 hours ago, donttellmum said:

Yea I agree, most kids blindly follow or like somethings for no reason so they arnt true fans

They are the reason that Teen titan go exists  so i dont trust them 

[Rhythm Red 6,484]

I might be giving our fandom a little too much credit here, but I'd say it's split 50-50 between little girls (the intended audience) and bronies (or just people outside the target audience). This fandom is MASSIVE.

 

I haven't done any research though, so don't take what I say as 100% fact by any means.

Edited January 25, 2018 by Rhythm Red

[EpicEnergy 23,149]

I'm not sure since I haven't seen anything that would suggest an answer towards that question.