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.

CBS’s “CSI”, “CSI-8PM Special” and “Eleventh Hour” were the top three-ranked primetime telecasts on broadcast TV with an average audience of approximately 24.2, 15.5 and 13.2 million viewers Thursday, January 15, 2009.

Rank
Program
Network
Viewers (P2+)

1
CSI
CBS
24,246,000

2
CSI – 8PM SPECIAL(S)-01/15/2009
CBS
15,515,000

3
ELEVENTH HOUR
CBS
13,159,000

4
GREY’S ANATOMY-THU 9PM
ABC
13,099,000

5
PRIVATE PRACTICE
ABC
8,494,000

6
OFFICE
NBC
8,491,000

7
E.R.
NBC
6,950,000

8
30 ROCK
NBC
6,634,000

9
MY NAME IS EARL
NBC
6,147,000

10
MY NAME IS EARL 1/15(S)-01/15/2009
NBC
5,991,000

Source: The Nielsen Company (January 15, 2009).

Overall, CBS won the night with an average audience of almost 17.7 million viewers,
while ABC took second place with almost 9.3 million average viewers. NBC and UNI
claimed third and fourth places with roughly 6.9 million and 4.6 …

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

Night two of FOX’s “American Idol-Wednesday” season premiere was the top ranked primetime telecast on broadcast TV for Wednesday, January 14, 2009 with approximately 30.3 million average viewers.
CBS’s “Crimanal Minds” and “CSI: NY” rounded out the top three with approximately 13.8 and 12.7 million average viewers respectively.

Rank
Program
Network
Viewers (P2+)

1
AMERICAN IDOL-WEDNESDAY
FOX
30,322,000

2
CRIMINAL MINDS
CBS
13,778,000

3
CSI: NY
CBS
12,666,000

4
LAW AND ORDER
NBC
8,261,000

5
OLD CHRISTINE
CBS
7,175,000

6
GARY UNMARRIED
CBS
6,963,000

7
KNIGHT RIDER
NBC
5,378,000

8
FUEGO EN LA SANGRE WED
UNI
5,046,000

9
CUIDADO CON EL ANGEL WED
UNI
5,013,000

10
LOST SP-1/14(S)-01/14/2009
ABC
4,500,000

Source: The Nielsen Company (January 14, 2009).

Overall, FOX won the night with an average audience of almost 30.3 million viewers,
while CBS took second place with almost 11.2 …

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.