Amid an extraordinarily media-driven presidential campaign, the Internet has loomed large, influencing everything from fundraising to fact-checking.
Nielsen Online recently analyzed the online presidential campaign, examining online advertising by the candidates, Web traffic and online video viewing at both campaign’s sites, and blog buzz related to the election.

Online Advertising
Senator Barack Obama’s campaign ramped up its online advertising in mid-September. Image-based ad impressions by the Obama campaign grew 202% from September 15 to 22 — and by another 94% by September 29.
In mid-October, Obama’s campaign also stepped up its sponsored link advertising, …

With the presidential election less than a week away, both candidates are easing back their advertising in seven key swing states: Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.
McCain increased his ad units by small margins in Florida, Pennsylvania, and Virginia on Thursday, Oct. 30.  He reduced the number of ad units he ran in Colorado by 1.5%, in Georgia by 31.9%, in Missouri by 1.8%, and in Ohio by 3.8%.
In comparison, Obama boosted his ad units slightly in Georgia, Missouri, Pennsylvania, and Virginia on Thursday.  Meanwhile, he reduced the …

Television viewing and online video streaming go hand in hand — with the heaviest Internet users also watching the most TV, Nielsen reported Friday.
Internet users who rank among the top fifth in terms of time spent online also watch more than 250 minutes of television each day, according to Nielsen. In comparison, people who don’t use the Internet at all watch just 220 minutes of TV per day.
The data comes from Nielsen’s new TV/Internet Convergence Panel, which measures both TV and Internet usage within individual U.S. households. The panel consists …

CBS’s “CSI” and “Survivor: Gabon” were the number one- and number three-ranked primetime telecasts on broadcast TV for Thursday, October 30, 2008.
ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy” was sandwiched in between the two, in second place.
The season premiere of NBC’s “30 Rock” also made the top 10.

Rank
Program
Network
Viewers (P2+)

1
CSI
CBS
19,098,000

2
GREY’S ANATOMY-THU 9PM
ABC
15,319,000

3
SURVIVOR: GABON
CBS
13,015,000

4
ELEVENTH HOUR
CBS
11,248,000

5
OFFICE
NBC
9,514,000

6
E.R.
NBC
9,192,000

7
30 ROCK
NBC
8,663,000

8
UGLY BETTY
ABC
8,550,000

9
LIFE ON MARS
ABC
8,139,000

10
MY NAME IS EARL
NBC
6,269,000

Source: The Nielsen Company (October 30, 2008).

Overall, CBS won the night with an average audience of almost 14.5 million viewers, while ABC took second place with just over 10.7 million average viewers. NBC and Univision …

According to data from Nielsen IAG, a Disney Parks ad inviting consumers to visit Disney theme parks for birthday celebrations was the most liked new “traditional” ad during the four weeks between September 15 and October 12, 2008.
Likeability refers to the percentage of television viewers who report liking an ad “a lot” after viewing it, among those who are able to recall an ad’s brand.

Senator Barack Obama’s infomercial drew 33.5 million U.S. viewers Wednesday night, according to Nielsen.
The simulcast — the first of its kind since Ross Perot ran a political telecast on the eve of Election Day in 1996 — aired on CBS, FOX, NBC, Univision, BET, MSNBC, and TV One between 8pm and 8:30pm EDT.
Perot’s 1996 telecast drew almost 22.7 million viewers.
On an average Wednesday night, the networks that aired Obama’s telecast draw a combined average of 30.3 million average viewers during that half-hour daypart.
In comparison, the final debate between the two presidential candidates …

On Wednesday, Sen. John McCain continued to increase his TV advertising in seven key swing states, while Sen. Barack Obama reduced his TV ad units in most of these states.
Wednesday evening marked the release of Obama’s half-hour infomercial.
McCain increased his ad units in Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia on Wednesday, Oct. 29.  He reduced the number of ad units he ran in Missouri by -1.7%.
In comparison, Obama increased his ad units in Florida and held his advertising steady in Georgia on Wednesday.  Meanwhile, he reduced the number of ad units he ran in Colorado, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia by slight percentages.

State
Obama:
Ad Units* (10/28/08)
Obama:
Ad Units* (10/29/08)
% Growth:
Obama …

The conclusion of the Phillies v. Rays World Series drew half of all Philadelphia households (51.8%) and almost one-third (32.4%) of all Tampa Bay households.
The game aired on FOX Wednesday night, between 8:30pm and 10:15pm EDT.  
In comparison, just 29% of Philly households and 23.4% of Tampa Bay households watched Barack Obama’s infomercial in the half hour leading up to what proved to be the Phillies-Rays’ final game.
The half-hour political simulcast — the first of its kind, since Ross Perot ran a political telecast on the eve of Election Day in 1996 — aired on CBS, …

The conclusion of Game 5 of the MLB World Series, which aired on FOX, was the number one-ranked primetime telecast on broadcast TV for Wednesday, October 29, 2008.
CBS’s “Criminal Minds” and “CSI: NY” rounded out the top three.
NBC’s and CBS’s telecasts of Sen. Barack Obama’s half-hour political infomercial also made the top 10.

Rank
Program
Network
Viewers (P2+)

1
FOX WRLD SERIES GM5 CONCL(S)-10/29/2008
FOX
19,844,000

2
CRIMINAL MINDS
CBS
13,966,000

3
CSI: NY
CBS
13,754,000

4
FOX WRLD SRS GM5 CONCLPRE(S)-10/29/2008
FOX
12,080,000

5
FOX WRLD SRS GM5 CONCLPST(S)-10/29/2008
FOX
10,538,000

6
OBAMA: PAID POLITICAL-NBC(S)-10/29/2008
NBC
9,911,000

7
OBAMA: PAID POLITICAL-CBS(S)-10/29/2008
CBS
8,602,000

8
DEAL OR NO DEAL-WED
NBC
8,337,000

9
PRIVATE PRACTICE
ABC
7,933,000

10
OLD CHRISTINE
CBS
7,607,000

Source: The Nielsen Company (October 29, 2008).

Overall, FOX won the night with an average …

Updated: The conclusion of Game 5 of the MLB World Series, in which the Philadelphia Phillies defeated the Tampa Bay Rays 4-1, drew 19.8 million average viewers Wednesday night — the series’ largest TV audience. 
The first half of Game 5, on Monday night, drew 13.2 million average TV viewers — before a rain delay suspended play in the bottom of the sixth inning.

DATE
NETWORK
VIEWERS (P2+)

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2008
(GAME 5 – conclusion)
FOX
19,844,000

MONDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2008
(GAME 5 – suspended in 6th inning by rain delay)
FOX
13,237,000

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2008
(GAME 4)
FOX
15,479,000

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2008
(GAME 3)
FOX
9,836,000

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2008
(GAME …