Nielsen has issued a year-end look at the most popular trends among Americans during 2008, covering everything from the top TV programs to the most popular consumer packaged goods.
Up first: movies and DVDs. 
Action and adventure ruled the box office in 2008.  “The Dark Knight,” “Iron Man,” “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” were the top three box office earners this past year, taking in a combined $1.16 billion through December 7.
Among DVD releases, action and adventure flicks also fared well, with “Iron Man” and “I Am Legend” …

Sales in British supermarkets picked up during the last two weeks of November, as shoppers turned their backs on convenience stores and the high street retailers in favor of larger purchases at larger, value-oriented hypermarkets, Nielsen reported Tuesday. 
Year-over-year growth at hypermarkets reached 6% during the period, while the smallest convenience outlets declined by almost 2% during the 12-week period.
In comparison, year-over-year growth in the British grocery sector stood at 3.2% during the 12 weeks ending 29 November, according to Nielsen.  Grocery multiples showed stronger growth (+5.6%) during the period.
“In order …

Was 2008 the best sports year ever?  At least in terms of viewer interest, there’s plenty of evidence to support that argument.  Consider these TV sports highlights from 2008:
-The most-watched global event ever (2008 Beijing Summer Olympics: 4.7 billion viewers)
-The most-watched Super Bowl ever (Giants-Patriots, Super Bowl XLII: 97.5 million viewers)
-The most-watched cable broadcast of all time (Cowboys-Eagles, Monday Night Football: 18.6 million viewers)
-The most-watched cable golf event of all time (Tiger vs. Rocco, U.S. Open Playoff: 4.8 million viewers)
-The most-watched cable baseball game ever (Red Sox-Rays, ALCS Game 7: …

Despite the tough economic climate, British value retailer Asda is thriving.
According to Nielsen, the chain increased its market share from 14.9% a year ago to 15.6% during the last quarter — the retailer’s highest ever market share, aside from the Christmas 2007 season.
Asda’s performance (8.7% sales growth) during the most recent 12-week period ending November 1, 2008 easily bested the rest of the British grocery market, Nielsen reported Tuesday.  The chain showed especially strong growth during October, when the global financial crisis reached a boiling point.

Surging online activity on Election Day accompanied record voter turn-out at the polls, as voters flocked to current events and news sites to follow election results.
Web traffic to sites within the “Current Events and Global News” category was up 27% on Election Day, versus the previous Tuesday (Oct. 28), Nielsen Online reported Wednesday.
The candidates’ websites also drew healthy traffic on Election Day.  Obama’s site had 1.2 million unique visitors on Nov. 4, while McCain’s site had 479,000 unique visitors.

Rank
(by
Nov. 4 UA)
Website
Unique Audience:
Oct. 28, 2008
(in 000s)
Unique Audience:
Nov. 4, 2008
(in 000s)
% Change

1
CNN Digital Network
8,496
12,847
51%

2
MSNBC …

Sunday’s broadcast of the 2008 Emmy Awards drew just over 12.3 million U.S. viewers. By comparison, the 2000 Emmy Awards drew the largest U.S. television audience (21.8 million viewers) of any Emmys telecast in the past 20 years.
The 1979 Emmys, hosted by Henry Winkler and Cheryl Ladd, drew the largest TV audience on record (20.8 million households). The 1986 Emmy Awards, hosted by David Letterman, ranked second overall, with 20.2 million households — an estimated 35.8 million viewers ages two and older — tuning in.
Nielsen’s Emmy ratings date back …

Tourism to China is expected to surge, following the Beijing Summer Games.
According to a 16-market survey conducted by Nielsen after the Olympics’ opening and closing ceremonies, consumers throughout the world are increasingly interested in traveling to mainland China. 
Forty-five percent of those surveyed after the Opening ceremony said they intended to travel to mainland China at some point.  Following the Closing Ceremony, that percentage increased to 51%.  For 80% of the respondents, who had never visited mainland China, it would their first trip to the country.
Meanwhile, respondents who said they had …

Among the many winners at the recent Summer Olympic Games: the city of Beijing.
According to a survey conducted by Nielsen after the closing ceremony, seven in 10 viewers across 16 countries and territories said Beijing appeared more “modern” and “high-tech” than they had expected.
Beijing also looked cleaner and greener than many viewers expected — 56% said the city’s physical environment exceeded their expectations.
Nine in 10 foreigners who visited Beijing for the Olympics also told Nielsen the city’s Olympics venues were “good” or “very good.”
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It’s official: the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games attracted the largest global TV audience ever. 
Between August 8 and August 24, 4.7 billion viewers — or 70% of the world’s population — tuned in to watch the Games, according to Nielsen.  In comparison, 3.9 billion watched the 2004 Athens Games, while 3.6 billion followed the 2000 Sydney Games on TV. 
Host nation China led the viewing with 94% of Chinese viewers tuning in to the Olympics TV coverage, Nielsen reported.  South Korea, though a much less populous nation, also recorded 94% audience reach.  Mexico followed closely with …

DATE 
NETWORK
VIEWERS (P2+)

FRIDAY, AUGUST 8, 2008
(OPENING CEREMONY)
NBC
34,891,000

SATURDAY, AUGUST 9, 2008
NBC
24,082,000

SUNDAY, AUGUST 10, 2008
NBC
32,256,000

MONDAY, AUGUST 11, 2008
NBC
30,173,000

TUESDAY, AUGUST 12, 2008
NBC
34,014,000

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 13, 2008
NBC
27,656,000

THURSDAY, AUGUST 14, 2008
NBC
29,708,000

FRIDAY, AUGUST 15, 2008
NBC
26,071,000

SATURDAY, AUGUST 16, 2008
NBC
31,593,000

SUNDAY, AUGUST 17, 2008
NBC
27,184,000

MONDAY, AUGUST 18, 2008
NBC
26,374,000

TUESDAY, AUGUST 19, 2008
NBC
26,629,000

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 20, 2008
NBC
24,755,000

THURSDAY, AUGUST 21, 2008
NBC
22,438,000

FRIDAY, AUGUST 22, 2008
NBC
17,876,000

SATURDAY, AUGUST 23, 2008
NBC
16,756,000

SUNDAY, AUGUST 24, 2008
(CLOSING CEREMONY)
NBC
27,834,000

AVERAGE OF PRIMETIME OLYMPICS COVERAGE
NBC
27,690,000

Source: The Nielsen Company (August 8, 2008 – August 24, 2008)