As Americans prepare for the shift to digital television, Nielsen has been at the forefront of tracking the public’s readiness for the change.  As the February 17 transition approaches, new attention has been focused on the sizeable number of people, particularly from minority communities, who have not yet taken action to prepare and may lose their signals.
Two Nielsen executives, Susan Whiting, Vice Chairman of the company, and Anne Elliot, a Vice President, spoke with the Los Angeles Times and the Chicago Tribune, respectively, about the preparedness of some communities and …

Chuck Schilling
Zynga is to Facebook as Clownfish Is to Sea Anemones
Social Networking is all the craze and Online Games are the guilty pleasure of almost half (46%) of all active web users, so it was only a matter of time before someone put the two together. Zynga, only a year old, focuses specifically on adding social elements to casual online games. Just as the symbiotic relationship between clownfish and sea anemones produces mutually beneficial results, so does that between Zynga and Facebook. Although Zynga offers games on other social networks, …

Using the dramatic landing of US Airways flight 1549, Matthew Bachman of Nielsen Online takes a look at how Twitter tracks big events.
“During the crash and subsequent rescue operations for US Airways Flight 1549, major news teams flocked to the scene at midtown in Manhattan… Almost simultaneously, Twitter and Flickr users flocked to their iPhones, laptops, and other assorted devices to monitor the event—and even provide their own accounts. Beating bloggers to the scene (though they played a significant role overall), Twitterers perched in midtown offices described the scene. Heyathena …

RANK
NAME
NETWORK
DAY
VIEWERS (P2+)

1
WWE ENTERTAINMENT (WWE RAW)
USA
MONDAY
5,411,000

2
ABC FAMILY ORIGINAL MOVIE(S)-01/18/2009 (ANOTHER CINDERELLA STY PR)
FAM
SUNDAY
5,296,000

3
WWE ENTERTAINMENT (WWE RAW)
USA
MONDAY
5,086,000

4
ICARLY
NICK
SATURDAY
5,052,000

5
MONK
USA
FRIDAY
4,941,000

6
PRES FAREWELL ADDRESS(S)-01/15/2009
FOXNC
THURSDAY
4,855,000

7
SPONGEBOB
NICK
SATURDAY
4,243,000

8
THE OREILLY FACTOR
FOXNC
THURSDAY
4,241,000

9
NCIS
USA
THURSDAY
4,206,000

10
REAL CHANCE OF LOVE
VH1
MONDAY
4,186,000

Source: The Nielsen Company (January 12, 2009 – January 18, 2009)

RANK
NAME
NETWORK
DAY
VIEWERS (P2+)

1
AFC CHAMPIONSHIP ON CBS
CBS
Sunday
4,576,000

2
AMERICAN IDOL-TUESDAY
FOX
Tuesday
4,124,000

3
AMERICAN IDOL-WEDNESDAY
FOX
Wednesday
3,841,000

4
AFC CHMP POST GAME ON CBS
CBS
Sunday
3,393,000

5
CSI
CBS
Thursday
2,241,000

6
MENTALIST, THE – SUN SPCL
CBS
Sunday
2,212,000

7
CSI: MIAMI
CBS
Monday
1,864,000

8
ELEVENTH HOUR
CBS
Thursday
1,642,000

9
MENTALIST, THE
CBS
Tuesday
1,444,000

10
NUMB3RS
CBS
Friday
1,369,000

Source: The Nielsen Company (January 12, 2009 – January 18, 2009)

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 …

RANK
NAME
NETWORK
DAY
VIEWERS (P2+)

1
FUEGO EN LA SANGRE TUE-01/13/2009
UNI
Tuesday
5,309,000

2
FUEGO EN LA SANGRE MON-01/12/2009
UNI
Monday
5,242,000

3
FUEGO EN LA SANGRE FRI-01/16/2009
UNI
Friday
5,091,000

4
FUEGO EN LA SANGRE THU-01/15/2009
UNI
Thursday
5,062,000

5
CUIDADO CON EL ANGEL MON-01/12/2009
UNI
Monday
5,015,000

6
CUIDADO CON EL ANGEL TUE-01/13/2009
UNI
Tuesday
4,887,000

7
FUEGO EN LA SANGRE WED-01/14/2009
UNI
Wednesday
4,877,000

8
CUIDADO CON EL ANGEL WED-01/14/2009
UNI
Wednesday
4,839,000

9
CUIDADO CON EL ANGEL THU-01/15/2009
UNI
Thursday
4,763,000

10
CUIDADO CON EL ANGEL FRI-01/16/2009
UNI
Friday
4,475,000

Source: The Nielsen Company (January 12, 2009 – January 18, 2009)

RANK
NAME
NETWORK
DAY
VIEWERS (P2+)

1
AFC CHAMPIONSHIP ON CBS(S)
CBS
Sunday
40,645,000

2
AMERICAN IDOL-TUESDAY
FOX
Tuesday
30,424,000

3
AMERICAN IDOL-WEDNESDAY
FOX
Wednesday
30,322,000

4
AFC CHMP POST GAME ON CBS(S)
CBS
Sunday
25,441,000

5
CSI
CBS
Thursday
24,246,000

6
NCIS
CBS
Tuesday
18,620,000

7
MENTALIST, THE
CBS
Tuesday
18,069,000

8
TWO AND A HALF MEN
CBS
Monday
17,102,000

9
MENTALIST, THE – SUN SPCL(S)
CBS
Sunday
16,387,000

10
CSI: MIAMI
CBS
Monday
15,830,000

Source: The Nielsen Company (January 12, 2009 – January 18, 2009)

CBS’s “Numb3rs”, “Ghost Whisperer” and “Flashpoint” swept the top three-ranked primetime telecasts on broadcast TV with an average audience of approximately 11.0, 10.6 and 10.3 million viewers Friday, January 16, 2009.

Rank
Program
Network
Viewers (P2+)

1
NUMB3RS
CBS
11,022,000

2
GHOST WHISPERER
CBS
10,581,000

3
FLASHPOINT
CBS
10,283,000

4
20/20-FRI
ABC
6,132,000

5
HOWIE DO IT 8:30
NBC
6,064,000

6
HOWIE DO IT 8P
NBC
5,980,000

7
SMARTER THAN 5TH GRADER
FOX
5,641,000

8
DATELINE FRI
NBC
5,574,000

9
FUEGO EN LA SANGRE FRI
UNI
5,222,000

10
DON’T FORGET THE LYRICS
FOX
4,936,000

Source: The Nielsen Company (January 16, 2009).

Overall, CBS won the night with an average audience of almost 10.6 million viewers,
while NBC took second place with almost 5.4 million average viewers. FOX and ABC
claimed third and fourth places with roughly 5.3 million …

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 …