RANK
NAME
NETWORK
DAY
VIEWERS (P2+)

1
NFL REGULAR SEASON L(BROWNS/EAGLES)
ESPN
MONDAY
9,882,000

2
NFL REGULAR SEASON GAME (2008 – RAVENS VS. COWBOYS)
NFLN
SATURDAY
5,759,000

3
WWE ENTERTAINMENT (WWE RAW)
USA
MONDAY
5,003,000

4
WWE ENTERTAINMENT (WWE RAW)
USA
MONDAY
4,982,000

5
SUNDAY MOVIE II (UNDERCOVER CHRISTMAS)
LIF
SUNDAY
4,725,000

6
SPONGEBOB
NICK
SATURDAY
4,441,000

7
SPONGEBOB
NICK
TUESDAY
4,174,000

8
SPONGEBOB
NICK
SATURDAY
4,165,000

9
NCIS
USA
MONDAY
4,137,000

10
SPONGEBOB
NICK
SATURDAY
4,099,000

Source: The Nielsen Company (December 15, 2008 – December 21, 2008)

RANK
NAME
NETWORK
DAY
VIEWERS (P2+)

1
NBC SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL
NBC
Sunday
2,757,000

2
CSI: MIAMI
CBS
Monday
1,897,000

3
MENTALIST, THE
CBS
Tuesday
1,856,000

4
WITHOUT A TRACE
CBS
Tuesday
1,845,000

5
SUNDAY NIGHT NFL PRE-KICK
NBC
Sunday
1,805,000

6
OT, THE
FOX
Sunday
1,785,000

7
NCIS
CBS
Tuesday
1,727,000

8
CSI: NY
CBS
Wednesday
1,608,000

9
CRIMINAL MINDS
CBS
Wednesday
1,524,000

10
ELEVENTH HOUR
CBS
Thursday
1,333,000

Source: The Nielsen Company (December 15, 2008 – December 21, 2008)

CBS’s “Two and a Half Men,” “CSI: Miami,” and “The Big Bang Theory” were the top three primetime telecasts on broadcast TV for Monday, December 22, 2008.
CBS’s “Worst Week” and “How I Met Your Mother” rounded out the top five.

RANK
NAME
NETWORK
VIEWERS (P2+)

1
TWO AND A HALF MEN
 
11,817,000

2
CSI: MIAMI
CBS
8,541,000

3
BIG BANG THEORY, THE
CBS
7,244,000

4
WORST WEEK
CBS
6,859,000

5
HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER
CBS
6,840,000

6
SHREK THE HALLS-12/22(S)-12/22/2008
CBS
6,510,000

7
HOUSE SP-12/22 8P(S)-12/22/2008
ABC
6,248,000

8
TODAY LOOKS BACK:2008(S)-12/22/2008
FOX
6,123,000

9
ABC MON MOVIE OF WK-12/22(S)-12/22/2008
NBC
5,696,000

10
FUEGO EN LA SANGRE MON
ABC
5,335,000

Source: The Nielsen Company (December 22, 2008).

Overall, CBS won the night with an average audience of just over 8.3 million viewers, while ABC …

RANK
NAME
NETWORK
DAY
VIEWERS (P2+)

1
NCIS
CBS
Tuesday
19,937,000

2
MENTALIST, THE
CBS
Tuesday
19,314,000

3
NBC SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL
NBC
Sunday
18,858,000

4
TWO AND A HALF MEN
CBS
Monday
17,915,000

5
CRIMINAL MINDS
CBS
Wednesday
15,160,000

6
CSI: MIAMI
CBS
Monday
14,560,000

7
WITHOUT A TRACE
CBS
Tuesday
14,475,000

8
CSI: NY
CBS
Wednesday
13,377,000

9
60 MINUTES
CBS
Sunday
13,133,000

10
CSI
CBS
Thursday
12,677,000

Source: The Nielsen Company (December 15, 2008 – December 21, 2008)

Chuck Schilling
Hi! I’m Chuck Schilling, Research Director for Agency & Media Analytics, and one of the more recent additions to the Nielsen Online team. For my first of many blog posts, I’m going to focus on what I know best – print media brands. My career path has taken me through the offices of most major print publishers – both as an employee and consultant – so I can say with a certain level of confidence that the economic pressures felt by these once-reliable ad revenue generators are unprecedented.
Back in 1995, …

Jim Carrey’s “Yes Man,” took over the top spot of the weekend box office for the weekend of December 19-21 with a take of more than $18M, placing it ahead of other weekend debuts including Will Smith’s “Seven Pounds,” and the animated “The Tale Of Despereaux,” featuring Matthew Broderick.
Below are the top 10 Box Office totals for the weekend of December 19-21, 2008 according to Nielsen EDI.

Rank
Title
Studio
Weekend Gross
Gross

1
YES MAN
WARNER BROS.
$18,262,471
$18,262,471

2
SEVEN POUNDS
SONY PICTURES
$14,851,136
$14,851,136

3
THE TALE OF DESPEREAUX
UNIVERSAL
$10,103,675
$10,103,675

4
THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL
TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX
$48,366,989
$9,890,105

5
FOUR CHRISTMASES
WARNER BROS.
$100,110,827
$7,701,375

6
TWILIGHT
SUMMIT ENTERTAINMENT
$158,423,218
$5,189,319

7
BOLT
WALT DISNEY STUDIOS
$94,900,059
$4,146,856

8
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
FOX SEARCHLIGHT
$12,037,510
$3,053,760

9
AUSTRALIA
TWENTIETH CENTURY …

In the U.S., high definition TV penetration has climbed steadily in the last year.  In December 2007, 13.5% of U.S. households HD TV sets — by this November that percentage had grown to 23.3%.
Who are these HD TV adopters?  According to a new study released Monday by Nielsen PreView, these HD equipped homes tend to be upscale, college educated, and have younger heads of household.  Sixty percent of HD homes also own DVR machines — compared to 24% of all homes in Nielsen’s National People Meter sample.  Nielsen Preview also …

How might the media and marketing landscape change next year?  In his latest Ad Age column, Pete Blackshaw, Nielsen Online Executive Vice President, ventures a few predictions.
1. Consumers Go On Social Media “Diets”
“[In 2008] we impulsively adopted everything from hastily assembled Facebook friends and Twitter followers to groups, apps and widgets, yet rarely revisited them.  In 2009, less may well become the new more,” Blackshaw notes.

2. Marketers Return To Media Basics
“TV will remain a focus because viewership in aggregate is actually going up, so continuing to understand how social media extends and …

When it comes to holiday baking, consumers in the northern U.S. reach for baking supplies — like readymade frosting, cake decorations, chocolate chips, and food coloring, while southerners prefer to stick to the basics: flour and sugar.
Last November and December, supermarket shoppers in northern markets like Hartford and New Haven, Conn. and Buffalo and Rochester, N.Y. spent almost one-third more, percentage-wise, on baking supplies than average American consumers, Nielsen reports.
During the same period, shoppers in southern markets like Birmingham, Ala. and Memphis dominated sales of flour, spending 106% and 78% more, respectively, than average Americans.
Consumers in Memphis and Birmingham also dominated sales …

According to Nielsen, discretionary shopping trips continued to decline dramatically in November, as consumers shifted purchases online and to value-oriented retailers.
Overall in November, trips to retailers declined by 2.9% from the previous year.
Retail Channel Trends
Toy stores, electronics stores, and department stores saw the most dramatic declines in the number of shopping trips last month vs. a year ago.  Trips to toy stores dropped by 23%, trips to electronics stores were down by 21%, and trips to department stores fell by 17%, Nielsen reported.
Retail channels offering low prices and strong value …