On Sunday, May 31, Nielsen CEO David Calhoun appeared on “The Wall Street Journal Report” with Maria Bartiromo to discuss everything from television and media measurement, to how food, fuel, and fear are impacting consumers trends around the world.

Anticipation surrounds this year’s E3, one of the largest video game expos, which kicks off this week in Los Angeles. Not only have Sony and Microsoft hinted at major hardware-related announcements, but also details related to upcoming software releases are expected to emerge. Video game enthusiasts started heavily discussing their expectations for E3 several months ago online. This traditionally vocal group of consumers is especially engaged in this year’s E3 – buzz for the month prior to the 2009 expo is up 31% over the comparable time period for E3 …

With economic uncertainty, a declining real estate market and a depreciating currency, South Korea felt the full impact of the global recession in 2008.  Ad spending fell 8 percent versus 2007 – the largest drop of the 12 countries Nielsen analyzed in Asia – with a drop of 19 percent in the fourth quarter.  All outlets – TV, newspapers, magazines and radio – saw declines in spending.
Ad spending in the largest category – financing, insurance & securities – not surprisingly dropped 13 percent in 2008, while construction & real estate …

RANK
NAME
NETWORK
DAY
VIEWERS (P2+)

1
SO YOU THINK CN DANCE-WED
FOX
WEDNESDAY
1,333,000

2
WITHOUT A TRACE-SPECIAL
CBS
THURSDAY
1,276,000

3
NCIS
CBS
TUESDAY
1,198,000

4
MENTALIST, THE
CBS
TUESDAY
1,186,000

5
SO YOU THINK CN DANCE-THU
FOX
THURSDAY
1,174,000

6
WITHOUT A TRACE
CBS
TUESDAY
1,171,000

7
NCIS THURSDAY 8PM-SPECIAL
CBS
THURSDAY
1,034,000

8
LAW & ORDER:SVU-WED 9PM
NBC
WEDNESDAY
1,026,000

9
CSI
CBS
THURSDAY
1,006,000

10
CSI: MIAMI-SPC
CBS
MONDAY
992,000

Source: The Nielsen Company (May 25, 2009 – May 31, 2009)

RANK
NAME
NETWORK
DAY
VIEWERS (P2+)

1
NCIS
CBS
TUESDAY
12,463,000

2
MENTALIST, THE
CBS
TUESDAY
12,357,000

3
G STRAIT:ACM ARTST DECADE(S)
CBS
WEDNESDAY
10,628,000

4
CSI
CBS
THURSDAY
9,976,000

5
WITHOUT A TRACE-SPECIAL(S)
CBS
THURSDAY
9,710,000

6
NCIS THURSDAY 8PM-SPECIAL(S)
CBS
THURSDAY
9,636,000

7
WITHOUT A TRACE
CBS
TUESDAY
9,570,000

8
TWO AND A HALF MEN-SPC(S)
CBS
MONDAY
9,268,000

9
SO YOU THINK CN DANCE-THU
FOX
THURSDAY
9,151,000

10
CRIMINAL MINDS SPECIAL(S)
CBS
WEDNESDAY
8,927,000

Source: The Nielsen Company (May 25, 2009 – May 31, 2009)

RANK
NAME
NETWORK
DAY
VIEWERS (P2+)

1
NBA PLAYOFFS (MAGIC/CAVALIERS)
TNT
TUESDAY
10,075,000

2
NBA PLAYOFFS (MAGIC/CAVALIERS)
TNT
THURSDAY
9,995,000

3
JON & KATE PLUS 8(S)-05/25/2009
TLC
MONDAY
9,802,000

4
NBA PLAYOFFS-CONF FNLS L (LAKERS/NUGGETS)
ESPN
MONDAY
9,731,000

5
NBA PLAYOFFS-CONF FNLS L (LAKERS/NUGGETS)
ESPN
WEDNESDAY
9,238,000

6
NBA PLAYOFFS-CONF FNLS L (LAKERS/NUGGETS)
ESPN
FRIDAY
8,462,000

7
NBA PLAYOFFS (MAGIC/CAVALIERS)
TNT
SATURDAY
8,362,000

8
2009 MTV MOVIE AWARDS
MTV
SUNDAY
5,282,000

9
WWE ENTERTAINMENT (WWE RAW)
USA
MONDAY
4,894,000

10
WWE ENTERTAINMENT (WWE RAW)
USA
MONDAY
4,486,000

Source: The Nielsen Company (May 25, 2009 – May 31, 2009)

RANK
NAME
NETWORK
DAY
VIEWERS (P2+)

1
MANANA PARA SIEMPRE WED-05/27/2009
UNI
WEDNESDAY
4,888,000

2
MANANA PARA SIEMPRE THU-05/28/2009
UNI
THURSDAY
4,804,000

3
MANANA PARA SIEMPRE TUE-05/26/2009
UNI
TUESDAY
4,766,000

4
MANANA PARA SIEMPRE MON-05/25/2009
UNI
MONDAY
4,578,000

5
MANANA PARA SIEMPRE FRI-05/29/2009
UNI
FRIDAY
4,323,000

6
GORDO Y FLACA: ED ES 5/26-05/26/2009
UNI
TUESDAY
4,187,000

7
CUIDADO CON EL ANGEL WED-05/27/2009
UNI
WEDNESDAY
3,867,000

8
CUIDADO CON EL ANGEL TUE-05/26/2009
UNI
TUESDAY
3,849,000

9
CUIDADO CON EL ANGEL THU-05/28/2009
UNI
THURSDAY
3,761,000

10
CUIDADO CON EL ANGEL FRI-05/29/2009
UNI
FRIDAY
3,617,000

Source: The Nielsen Company (May 25, 2009 – May 31, 2009)