F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote “there are no second acts in American lives,” but this past week quarterbacks Michael Vick and Brett Favre embarked on their second and third acts, respectively, and in doing so turned the sports world upside down.
Last Thursday, when the Eagles announced the signing of Michael Vick during a preseason game, it set off a media storm locally and nationally. The game itself was seen by 647,000 viewers in Philadelphia, a 63% increase over the Eagles’ first pre-season game in 2008. Recent online buzz was also high. According …

A review of Nielsen’s Video Game Tracking data (tabulated weekly since July 2005) for the Madden football franchise reaffirms that Madden is a household name among active gamers like AAA brands such as Halo, Grand Theft Auto, Call of Duty and Mario. August usually belongs to Madden, with few other notable titles released during this time. Below are insights into this year’s iteration, Madden NFL 10.

Madden NFL 10 dominates the sports genre in several metrics, including unaided and aided awareness and definite purchase interest among active gamers.

Key …

In his effort to discredit NY Daily News reporter Adam Rubin, Mets General Manager Omar Minaya may have likely given the newspaper a wealth of positive exposure.
On July 22nd, when Rubin first reported that Mets VP of Player Personnel Tony Bernazard challenged players on the team’s minor league affiliate to a fight, the NY Daily News received no spike in online chatter according to Nielsen Buzzmetrics.

By Scott Hamm
If you have not heard of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) by now, chances are you will be hearing about it in the near future. After breaking into the mainstream with The Ultimate Fighter reality series in 2005, an analysis of online buzz shows that the UFC continues to make great strides in popularity.
Backed by cable television programming and monthly pay-per-view events, the UFC has steadily gained online buzz during the past 18 months. Since 2008, UFC buzz has trended upward and peaked with the UFC 94 event …

Scott Hamm
If you have not heard of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) by now, chances are you will be hearing about it in the near future. After breaking into the mainstream with The Ultimate Fighter reality series in 2005, an analysis of online buzz shows that the UFC continues to make great strides in popularity.
Backed by cable television programming and monthly pay-per-view events, the UFC has steadily gained online buzz during the past 18 months. Since 2008, UFC buzz has trended upward and peaked with the UFC 94 event held …

How have gamers responded to the recession? While much of the conversation has focused on fluctuations in new game sales, a new study “The Value Gamer: Play and Purchase Behavior in a Recession” by the Nielsen Company shows there is much more to the story. Over the past several months, the number of hours that gamers claim to be playing is at an all time high, part of a rising trend in gameplay that began in 2007. Additionally, gamers have increased their purchase of used games to record-breaking totals since …

While the American auto industry is no doubt facing an uncertain future, the Big Three can look to NASCAR for some positive news. Not only are the top five drivers in the Sprint Cup Standings all driving American, but also NASCAR fans, long known for their brand loyalty, are staying patriotic when it comes to their vehicles.

According to data from Nielsen’s People Meter sample fused with the respondents of MRI’s Survey of the American Consumer, NASCAR race viewers in Q1′09 were more likely than the average consumer to drive American:

Drivers of Chevrolet, …

When it comes to golf’s U.S. Open, it’s no secret the role Tiger Woods plays in television ratings, but one advertiser in particular may be cheering hardest for the defending champion. EASports, the maker of Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10, has been prevalent so far in this year’s tournament, sponsoring hole flyovers during the broadcast, and placing banner ads on the online stream of the tournament. According to Nielsen’s Video Game Tracking survey, the franchise has grown steadily in both awareness and purchase intent, as evidenced by comparing these …

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman doesn’t need to pick a side in tonight’s do-or-die Game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals. After all, history says that Bettman and the NHL have already won – at least when it comes to TV viewers.
The Nielsen Company looked back at the four Stanley Cup Finals match-ups that have gone the full seven games since 2000 and in each case, Game 7 was a ratings windfall. For example, games one through six of the 2006 finals between Edmonton and Carolina averaged 2.4 million viewers. Game …

The three major gaming corporations went head-to-head for the attention of consumers last week by making major announcements at E3, one of the largest gaming conferences in the world. Consumers online have taken notice – during last week’s conference, buzz is up 30% from the comparable time period for E3 2008. After press conferences by Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony, no clear winner emerges in online buzz, with Microsoft earning the most brand discussion, but buzz for Wii, Xbox 360 and PS3 is nearly equal. Additionally, the game title receiving the …