The Kevin James comedy “Paul Blart: Mall Cop” secured the top spot of the weekend box office with a $39.2 million take. Last week’s box office champ, Clint Eastwood’s “Gran Torino” pulled into second with $25.6 milloin, edging out the third-place, 3D thriller “My Bloody Valentine” at $24.1 million. Following its Golden Globe wins, “Slumdog Millionaire” returned to the top 10, pulling in more than $7 million for the weekend.

RANK
Title
Studio
Weekend Gross
Jan 16-18
Total Gross
Thru Jan 18

1
PAUL BLART: MALL COP
SONY PICTURES
$39,234,238
$39,234,238

2
GRAN TORINO
WARNER BROS.
$25,606,399
$76,603,810

3
MY BLOODY VALENTINE
LIONSGATE
$24,103,962
$24,103,962

4
NOTORIOUS
FOX SEARCHLIGHT
$23,393,472
$23,393,472

5
HOTEL FOR …

On Tuesday, January 20th, Americans will witness history with the inauguration of the 44th President of the United States, Barack Obama.  How will this event compare with other inaugurations over the past 40 years?  Nielsen has compiled data about inaugural viewership since 1969.
Key findings are:

Ronald Reagan’s 1981 inauguration drew the most viewers – almost 42 million.

First time inaugurations of two-term presidents drew higher ratings than their second (exception: Nixon in 1973).

The …

With the shift to Digital Television on the horizon, Nielsen Online has been tracking the online conversation, seeking out the top blogs talking DTV. The topic has seen a significant spike of late, starting back in October following Nielsen’s initial readiness announcement. Recently, Barack Obama’s comments about extending the DTV deadline prompted another conversation spike in early January.

For many NFL fans, Conference Championship Sunday is the best weekend for football.
In about the time it takes to watch the Super Bowl- with its 30-minute halftime and extended commercial breaks- fans can enjoy two championship-caliber games.
A Nielsen duplication study reveals that 66% of the households that tuned in to last year’s Conference Championships saw BOTH games, with 85% of the AFC’s audience also watching a portion of the NFC game, and 75% of the NFC audience watching the earlier AFC game.
This year’s matchups have their work cut out to top …

The worldwide economic slowdown has resulted in a significant decline in consumer spending as retailers of all types have been affected.   But while people may hold on to their cars longer or put off the purchase of a new handbag, they all must eat.  Even grocers are seeing a big change in how consumers are spending their money.  According to new Nielsen research prepared for the BBC, food shoppers are spending their money on more basic items such as white bread, baked beans and other staples.
Sales of standard sliced white …

According to Nielsen Online, there were roughly 8.6 billion Web searches conducted during December 2008 – up 19.6% over the same month last year.
Google searches accounted for nearly 63% of all Web searches, with 5.4 billion queries. Yahoo!, MSN, AOL, and Ask.com rounded out the top five.
Searches represent the total number of queries conducted at the provider.

RANK
Provider
Searches (000)
YOY Growth
Share of Searches

All Searches
8,623,705
19.60%
100.00%

1
Google Search
5,421,943
33.50%
62.90%

2
Yahoo! Search
1,448,140
13.70%
16.80%

3
MSN/Windows Live Search
841,457
-15.50%
9.80%

4
AOL Search
357,025
5.10%
4.10%

5
Ask.com Search
169,116
6.00%
2.00%

6
My Web Search
62,415
-11.60%
0.70%

7
Comcast Search
50,385
45.10%
0.60%

8
NexTag Search
29,219
0.70%
0.30%

9
AT&T Worldnet Search
27,176
8.00%
0.30%

10
BizRate Search
23,593
37.10%
0.30%

Source: Nielsen Online, MegaView Search

It’s no secret that consumers nationwide have been forced to alter their behavior and spending patterns due to the weak economy in 2008. But, specifically, just how are they coping?
Based on its extensive research in the Consumer Packaged Goods and Entertainment categories, The Nielsen Company has some answers.
The New Mantra: If You Can’t Eat It… You Don’t Need It

Consumers are relying more and more on food staples and “value” items such as rice, noodles, and pasta, which dominated Nielsen’s list of the fastest-growing categories in 2008.
Dollar sales vs. a year …

Sue McDonald, Nielsen Online
Leading up to the Jan. 8 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, buzz from online boards, forums and blogs increased nearly tenfold from post-2008 holiday levels, according to Nielsen Online.
Key products created much of the excitement, including super-thin, bendable TV screens (using organic light-emitting diode, or OLED technology), new digital cameras and camcorders, smarter-than-ever-smartphones such as the Palm Pre, and tinier, more powerful computers, some of which are being called “netbooks.” Also big: the concept of “convergence,” which means that many electronics devices are now interchangeably converging …

With double-digit growth across most categories measured, South Africans continued to take to the Internet in 2008, and the profile of those doing so is evolving.
Andrew Felbert, of Nielsen Online, said, “Not only are there more people online in South Africa, but they are spending more time online and viewing more content.  Companies and advertisers wishing to get their products and services in front of consumers can no longer ignore the power of the Internet.”
According to the new research:
•    The number of unique browsers and pages viewed increased by 25% …

Amid the backdrop of the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Nielsen Online analysts Joe Colacurcio and Scott Hamm discuss online auto conversations and value of pre-buzz on auto blogs like Jalopnik.