CBS’s “CSI” was the number one primetime broadcast telecast for Thursday, July 17, 2008.  But FOX dominated the top three with “So You Think You Can Dance” and “Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader,” which claimed the second and third slots, respectively.

RANK
NAME
NETWORK
VIEWERS (P2+)

1
CSI
CBS
8,919,000

2
SO YOU THINK CN DANCE-THU
FOX
8,396,000

3
SMARTER THAN 5TH GRADER
FOX
7,687,000

4
GREATEST AMERICAN DOG
CBS
6,971,000

5
HOPKINS
ABC
6,008,000

6
SWINGTOWN
CBS
5,325,000

7
PREMIOS JUVENTUD 08 7/17(S)-07/17/2008
UNI
5,198,000

8
LAST COMIC STANDING 6
NBC
4,492,000

9
GREY’S ANATOMY-THU 9PM
ABC
3,350,000

10
UGLY BETTY
ABC
3,217,000

Source: The Nielsen Company (July 17, 2008)

Overall, FOX won the night — with an average audience of 8,042,000 viewers, while CBS took second place with 7,141,000 average viewers.  Univision and …

In separate reviews published Thursday, CNBC’s Gloria McDonough-Taub and TIME’s Andrea Sachs praised “Satisfied Customers Tell Three Friends, Angry Customers Tell 3,000” (Doubleday), the new book from Nielsen Online’s Executive Vice President of Digital Strategic Services, Pete Blackshaw.   
Sachs concluded that the book, which offers guidance for marketing to Web-empowered consumers, “deserves a spot on the desk of every executive who worries about his company’s reputational risk.”
In her “Bullish on Books” blog, McDonough-Taub echoed that advice: ”‘Satisfied Customers’ is a great guide for business leaders and marketing officers who want to build …

Anheuser-Busch’s acquisition by Belgian brewer InBev won’t halt the beer maker’s prodigious sports marketing efforts. 
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Friday that Anheuser-Busch executives sought to calm fears that its sports marketing would be curtailed by InBev.
The story noted that Anheuser-Busch, one of the biggest money machines in the U.S. sports industry, spent approximately $482 million last year on U.S. advertising, according to Nielsen.  About 60% of that — $285 million — paid for TV advertising on sports.

CBS’s “Criminal Minds” and “CSI: NY” were the number one- and number three-ranked primetime telecasts on broadcast TV for Wednesday, July 16, 2008. 
FOX’s “So You Think You Can Dance” was sandwiched between the two, in second place.
NBC’s back-to-back telecasts of “Baby Borrowers” claimed the 5th and 10th spots, while two Univision programs, “Al Diablo Con Guapos” (#7) and “Fuego en la Sangre” (#9), also made the top ten.

RANK
NAME
NETWORK
VIEWERS (P2+)

1
CRIMINAL MINDS
CBS
9,260,000

2
SO YOU THINK CN DANCE-WED
FOX
9,010,000

3
CSI: NY
CBS
8,601,000

4
PRIMETIME: CRIME
ABC
6,440,000

5
BABY BORROWERS
NBC
5,934,000

6
BIG BROTHER 10-WED
CBS
5,756,000

7
AL DIABLO CON GUAPOS WED
UNI
4,657,000

8
CELEBRITY CIRCUS
NBC
4,547,000

9
FUEGO EN LA SANGRE WED
UNI
4,164,000

10
BABY BORROWERS 8P
NBC
4,017,000

Source: …

MediaPost’s MediaDailyNews reported Thursday that DVR’s are now in 25% of U.S. homes — an increase of 5% from nine months ago, according to Nielsen.
The data from Nielsen confirms anecdotal evidence indicating that DVR users are passionate about the devices.  The story noted that in 30% of the estimated 28 million homes with DVRs, the devices are connected to more than one TV set.

Editor & Publisher reported Wednesday that more than 80% of the top online newspapers in the U.S. recorded increases in the number of unique visitors to their websites during June — compared to the same month a year ago, according to Nielsen Online.
New York’s Daily News Online saw the largest percentage gain — its audience grew by 109% year-over-year to 3.8 million unique visitors in June.  Michigan-based MLive.com rose 80% to 1.5 million unique visitors, while sites owned by two New York City-based news outlets, Newsday and Village Voice Media, saw audience …

FOX’s Major League Baseball All-Star Game and Pre-Game broadcasts claimed the number one- and number three spots, respectively, in the ranking of primetime telecasts on broadcast TV for Tuesday, July 15, 2008. 
The game broadcast attracted 14,540,000 viewers — the largest audience since 2002.  Last year, 12.5 million viewers tuned in to watch the game.
NBC’s “America’s Got Talent” ranked second for the night, while ABC’s new reality series, “Wipeout,” took fourth place in the rankings.

RANK
NAME
NETWORK
VIEWERS (P2+)

1
FOX MLB ALL-STAR GAME(S)-07/15/2008
FOX
14,540,000

2
AMERICA’S GOT TALENT
NBC
12,793,000

3
FOX MLB ALL-STAR PRE(S)-07/15/2008
FOX
10,371,000

4
WIPEOUT
ABC
8,652,000

5
CELEBRITY FAMILY FEUD
NBC
7,823,000

6
NCIS
CBS
7,762,000

7
PRIMETIME: FAMILY SECRETS
ABC
6,967,000

8
BIG BROTHER 10-TUE
CBS
6,104,000

9
LAW AND …

CBS’s “Two and a Half Men” and “CSI Miami” were the number one- and number two-ranked primetime telecasts on broadcast TV for Monday, July 14, 2008.
ABC’s back-to-back telecasts of “The Mole” claimed the 8th and 10th spots, while two Univision programs, “Fuego en la Sangre” (#7) and “Cristina” (#9), also made the top ten.

RANK
NAME
NETWORK
VIEWERS (P2+)

1
TWO AND A HALF MEN
CBS
8,390,000

2
CSI: MIAMI
CBS
7,669,000

3
HOUSE-MON 9P
FOX
7,432,000

4
DATELINE NBC-MON
NBC
6,316,000

5
NASHVILLE STAR
NBC
5,935,000

6
HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER
CBS
5,138,000

7
FUEGO EN LA SANGRE MON
UNI
4,246,000

8
MOLE, THE
ABC
3,599,000

9
CRISTINA MON
UNI
3,045,000

10
MOLE, THE-7/14(S)-07/14/2008
ABC
2,888,000

Source: The Nielsen Company (July 14, 2008)

Overall, FOX edged past CBS to win the night — with …

Tuesday night’s All-Star baseball game, hosted in New York’s soon-to-be-retired Yankee Stadium, marks the end of an era.
But will that be enough to lure TV viewers?
Since 2001, Major League Baseball All-Star Game telecasts have drawn U.S. audiences ranging from 12 to 16 million viewers.  Last year’s telecast drew 12.5 million viewers — down from 2006, when 14.4 million fans tuned in.
The 2001 game claimed the largest audiences in recent memory with just over 16 million viewers, but that audience was less than half the size of those tuning in during the game’s …

In the next in a regular series of Ad Age columns, Nielsen Online Executive Vice President Pete Blackshaw examines how Canadian fast-food chain Tim Horton’s benefits from the unusually intense loyalty of its customers.
While Starbucks has struggled with store closings and customer-service failings, this coffee competitor from the North has quietly expanded, banking on its mission, its people, and its community ethos.
“Even though it’s a chain, the brand…comes across as uniquely authentic,” Blackshaw writes.  “There’s an important story behind this Tim Hortons brand. Great food, good value, strong community support …