The much anticipated X-Men Origins: Wolverine hits movie theatres this weekend, marking the fourth installment in the running series of X-Men movies. The theatrical debut coincides with the release of the video game based on the movie, just as was done in 2006 with the third movie X-Men: The Last Stand. While the box office comparison between the two movies is yet to be determined, if gamer anticipation is any indication, things are looking up for the franchise’s game based on Nielsen’s weekly Video Game Tracking survey.

NOTE: See the important update to this story here.
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David Martin, Vice President, Primary Research, Nielsen Online

Oprah embarrassed herself on it with a stuck caps lock. That guy from Punk’d competed with “the most trusted name in news” for audience. A befuddled Jon Stewart shook his fist at it in anger. Let there be no doubt: Twitter has grown exponentially in the past few months with no small thanks to celebrity exposure. People are signing up in droves, and Twitter’s unique audience is up over 100 percent in March. But despite …

Following Sunday’s spike in conversations surrounding the swine flu outbreak, web chatter doubled on Monday, April 27. Nearly four percent of blogs, micro-blogs such as Twitter, web news and forums were related to “swine flu.” Already, by start of business on Tuesday in the U.S., the number had swelled to nearly six percent.

ABC’s “Dancing With The Stars” claimed the top slot in Nielsen’s ranking of the top primetime telecasts on broadcast TV for April 27, 2009. The show drew just over 19.3 million average viewers Monday evening.
CBS’s “Two And A Half Men” and “CSI: Miami” rounded out the top three with 14.2 and 12.1 million average viewers.

From the moment President Obama began his race for the White House, he became known as the candidate who understood and knew how to use the Web.  Since being elected, he has continued to use the Internet as a vehicle for connecting with people. One of the first acts of the new administration was to create a revamped Web site to help them stay engaged with the public. Knowledge and interest in the “new” WhiteHouse.gov has continued to grow since its inception in January, and video viewing has been an …

As reports of the swine flu outbreak reached beyond Mexican borders and into the U.S. late last week, the internet has been buzzing furiously about risks, symptoms, and other updates for information. By comparison, the volume of conversations about the epidemic have already exceeded nearly 10 to 1 those surrounding the salmonella and peanut butter scares from earlier this winter… or, to put it in another cultural perspective, the chatter about swine flu even dwarfs that of recent viral media star Susan Boyle.

The increased conversations around swine flu on Twitter, …

While gas prices in the U.S. have fallen by nearly half since May 2008, online interest in hybrid vehicles remains strong. The new 2010 Honda Insight was just released in March and is generating online interest from a younger audience than the Prius. The demographic composition of a hybrid shopper is moving closer to the mainstream vehicle shopper’s profile.
Some insights on the Insight
The 2010 Honda Insight is having a tough time breaking out of the Prius’ shadow as the majority of consumers often compare the two vehicles. However, …

CBS’s “Ghost Whisperer”, “Numb3rs” and “Flashpoint” swept the top three-ranked primetime telecasts on broadcast TV with an average audience of approximately 9.2, 8.8 and 8.2 million viewers Friday, April 24, 2009.

RANK
NAME
NETWORK
DAY
VIEWERS (P2+)

1
MANANA PARA SIEMPRE TUE-04/21/2009
UNI
TUESDAY
5,226,000

2
MANANA PARA SIEMPRE MON-04/20/2009
UNI
MONDAY
5,188,000

3
MANANA PARA SIEMPRE THU-04/23/2009
UNI
THURSDAY
5,112,000

4
MANANA PARA SIEMPRE WED-04/22/2009
UNI
WEDNESDAY
5,000,000

5
MANANA PARA SIEMPRE FRI-04/24/2009
UNI
FRIDAY
4,714,000

6
CUIDADO CON EL ANGEL MON-04/20/2009
UNI
MONDAY
4,523,000

7
CUIDADO CON EL ANGEL TUE-04/21/2009
UNI
TUESDAY
3,981,000

8
CUIDADO CON EL ANGEL THU-04/23/2009
UNI
THURSDAY
3,959,000

9
MUJERES ASESINAS THU-04/23/2009
UNI
THURSDAY
3,878,000

10
CUIDADO CON EL ANGEL WED-04/22/2009
UNI
WEDNESDAY
3,783,000

Source: The Nielsen Company (April 20, 2009 – April 26, 2009)

RANK
NAME
NETWORK
DAY
VIEWERS (P2+)

1
WWE ENTERTAINMENT (WWE RAW)
USA
MONDAY
5,498,000

2
WWE ENTERTAINMENT (WWE RAW)
USA
MONDAY
5,101,000

3
NFL DRAFT L (2009 NFL DRAFT)
ESPN
SATURDAY
5,058,000

4
MLB SUNDAY NIGHT L (YANKEES/RED SOX)
ESPN
SUNDAY
4,598,000

5
ICARLY
NICK
WEDNESDAY
4,521,000

6
NCIS
USA
MONDAY
4,334,000

7
FOR THE LOVE OF RAY J
VH1
MONDAY
4,223,000

8
HATCHING PETE
DSNY
FRIDAY
4,138,000

9
LAW & ORDER: CI (ORIG)
USA
SUNDAY
4,100,000

10
DEADLIEST CATCH
DISC
TUESDAY
4,049,000

Source: The Nielsen Company (April 20, 2009 – April 26, 2009)