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Michael Jackson News Dominates Web Buzz

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June 26, 2009 12 Comments

The breaking news of Michael Jackson’s sudden death dominated the web yesterday (and today), causing spikes in traffic and overwhelming social networks such as Twitter and Facebook with bursts of information and updates from millions of users. In comparison, discussions of Jackson far exceeded those of the swine flu scare as well as the inauguration of President Obama.

Nielsen Buzzmetrics analysis shows that more than 16% of tweets over the past 24 hours reference Michael Jackson, and less than 2 percent of Tweets mention Farrah Fawcett and Iran.

A Topper of Charts and a Major TV Draw

That Jackson’s passing dominated the web is no surprise, as he has been a major media draw for decades. According to Billboard, over the course of his solo career, Jackson charted 47 singles on the Billboard Hot 100, 13 of which went to No. 1. As part of the Jackson 5, he earned an additional four No. 1 Hot 100 hits.In addition to his unparalleled dominance on the Billboard music charts with albums like Thriller, his past television appearances have attracted millions of curious viewers eager to see more of the reclusive, yet ubiquitous, star.

Notable Michael Jackson TV Apperances
NETWORK DATE SHOW DETAILS VIEWERS
ABC 2/6/2003 20/20 Special Controversial documentary on Jackson by Martin Bashir 27,111,000
CBS 12/28/2003 60 Minutes Ed Bradley interviews Michael Jackson 18,784,000
CBS 11/13/2001 30th Anniv Special Michael Jackson 30th Anniversary Special 25,731,000
ABC 6/14/1995 Primetime Live Diane Sawyer interviews Jackson & Lisa Marie Presley 37,532,000
MTV 9/8/1994 MTV Video Music Awards Michael Jackson & Lisa Marie Presley debut as husband/wife 5,359,000
ABC 2/10/1993 Oprah Winfrey Special Oprah and Jackson Interview 62,289,000
NBC 1/31/1993 Super Bowl XXVII Michael Jackson Super Bowl halftime show 90,990,000
Source: The Nielsen Company

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12 Comments »

  • Tweets as Analytics Tool « Screenwerk said:

    [...] for other media but I haven’t seen much discussion of that. What prompted this is the Nielsen post about Michael Jackson’s death: Nielsen Buzzmetrics analysis shows that more than 16% of [...]

  • Paid Content : Nielsen: In Blogosphere, Jackson's Death Trumped Obama's Inauguration, Swine Flu said:

    [...] how gaga did people go over news about Michael Jackson’s death? Nielsen tracked the number of mentions in the [...]

  • Nielsen: Jackson Chatter Dominates Social Networks said:

    [...] Jackson has dominated Internet chatter and overwhelmed social networking sites, according to preliminary data from [...]

  • Nielsen: Jackson Chatter Dominates Social Networks | DUOWAN said:

    [...] Jackson has dominated Internet chatter and overwhelmed social networking sites, according to preliminary data from [...]

  • Reece said:

    Mr. Jackson was and will always be a beautiful spirit that touched people’s lives around the world. My prayers go out to all of his family and friends who loved him so dearly. There will forever remain a hole in Pop culture. He will be truly missed.

  • James R Sutter said:

    I suspect that this will be perceived in the same category of celebrity death announcements as Elvis, John Lennon, Marilyn Monroe. I remember where I was when I heard the news… Well maybe not Marilyn Monroe because I would have only been about eight years old. Still, this one’s a shocker… and another one of the limelight tragedies that seem to fill the newspapers weekly.

    Jim Sutter – Cincinnati

  • Michael Jackson KOP Breaks Google Tops Obama said:

    [...] Jackson the King of Pop (KOP) was as BIG as it gets. According to Nielsen, the breaking news of Michael Jackson’s sudden death dominated the web, causing spikes in traffic [...]

  • john said:

    it is sad micheal jackson pasted away . i do think it is wrong place to his body in neverland , it is place the trouble started with micheal jackson , that destroy him in the eyes of U.S.A people .He will have biggest funeral in U.S.A , just like Princess Diana after her death less people show up to her grave for remembrance day each year . he will never be great has elvis presley , courts destroyed his future

  • Geewk » Michael Jackson News Dominates Web Buzz | Nielsen Wire said:

    [...] Read more here:  Michael Jackson News Dominates Web Buzz | Nielsen Wire [...]

  • Michael Jackson Funeral To Break Online Video Business Record | Business Pundit said:

    [...] that interest in Michael Jackson’s death has already trumped Obama’s inauguration in the blogosphere, we can expect to see record breaking online [...]

  • Michael Jackson Death Completely Overwhelms Media | Digitally Approved said:

    [...] and BitTorrent downloads skyrocketing and made for a huge portion of TV news and radio airplay, according to The Nielsen Company, Billboard and a number of other analysts that tracked coverage of the [...]

  • Caramoan Island Tour Resort said:

    Michael Jackson would still be remembered as the only King of Pop. We would surely miss him.

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