At a time when consumers are more sophisticated than ever and networks and advertisers are looking for ways to deepen engagement with their audiences, they are turning to Nielsen for help in better understanding the connected consumer in an increasing fragmented media landscape.

On average, NBA playoff viewership is up 18% across TNT, ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC thanks in part to a pair of Conference final games. On May 26th, the Cavs and Magic pulled 10.1 million viewers in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Championship Series on TNT – the most ever for an NBA Playoff game on cable and the most-watched cable telecast of the year. And the Lakers-Nuggets’ Game 4 of the Western Conference Championship Series delivered 9.7 million viewers - the most ever for a basketball game (college or pro) in ESPN’s history.

NBA fans will have quite a few presents to unwrap on Christmas Day, with none bigger than the Boston Celtics-Los Angeles Lakers matchup on ABC. The teams square off for the first time since last year’s NBA Finals. When the Celtics defeated the Lakers for their 17th championship in June, the series received an average of 14.9 million viewers, the most for the NBA Finals in five years.
Since ABC obtained NBA broadcasting rights in 2002, the network’s Christmas Day games have averaged a 4.1 rating and 6.9 million viewers nationally. …

According to data from Nielsen IAG, a CoverGirl tie-in with the CW’s “America’s Next Top Model” was the most recalled new “hybrid” ad during the four weeks between October 27 and November 23, 2008.
Hybrid Ads include customized ads, branded promos, vignettes, interstitials, and micro-series where sponsor messaging is combined with program or entertainment content.
Recall refers to the percentage of television viewers who can recall, within 24 hours, a hybrid ad’s sponsor.

CBS’s “Criminal Minds” and “CSI: NY” were the number one- and two-ranked primetime telecasts on broadcast TV for Wednesday, November 26, 2008.
ABC’s “Barbara Walters Special” rounded out the top three.

Rank
Program
Network
Viewers (P2+)

1
CRIMINAL MINDS
CBS
14,108,000

2
CSI: NY
CBS
12,304,000

3
BARBARA WALTERS SP-11/26(S)-11/26/2008
ABC
11,612,000

4
BONES
FOX
9,867,000

5
GARY UNMARRIED
CBS
7,631,000

6
OLD CHRISTINE
CBS
7,483,000

7
PRIVATE PRACTICE
ABC
6,334,000

8
LAW AND ORDER
NBC
6,330,000

9
DEAL OR NO DEAL-WED
NBC
6,319,000

10
FUEGO EN LA SANGRE WED
UNI
5,506,000

Source: The Nielsen Company (November 25, 2008).

Overall, CBS won the night with an average audience of just over 11.3 million viewers, while ABC took second place with just over 7.4 million average viewers. FOX and NBC claimed third and fourth places with roughly 7.3 …

ABC’s “Dancing With The Stars” was the number one-ranked primetime telecast on broadcast TV for Tuesday, November 25, 2008 with approximately 20.6 million average viewers.
CBS’s “NCIS” and “The Mentalist” rounded out the top three with approximately 18.1 and 15.9 million average viewers respectively.

Rank
Program
Network
Viewers (P2+)

1
DANCING W/STARS RESULTS
ABC
20,647,000

2
NCIS
CBS
18,118,000

3
MENTALIST, THE
CBS
15,925,000

4
HOUSE
FOX
12,877,000

5
CHARLIE BROWN THANKSGVING(S)-11/25/2008
ABC
11,085,000

6
WITHOUT A TRACE
CBS
10,416,000

7
LAW AND ORDER:SVU
NBC
8,589,000

8
FRINGE
FOX
7,704,000

9
BIGGEST LOSER 6
NBC
6,875,000

10
FUEGO EN LA SANGRE TUE
UNI
5,335,000

Source: The Nielsen Company (November 25, 2008).

Overall, ABC won the night with an average audience of almost 17.5 million viewers, while CBS took second place with just over 14.8 million average viewers. …

Rank
Program
Network
Viewers (P2+)

1
60 MINUTES
CBS
18,471,000

2
CSI
CBS
18,175,000

3
NBC SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL
NBC
17,564,000

4
DANCING WITH THE STARS
ABC
17,089,000

5
DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES
ABC
15,854,000

6
DANCING W/STARS RESULT SP(S)
ABC
15,848,000

7
GREY’S ANATOMY-THU 9PM
ABC
15,740,000

8
SNL PRESIDENTIAL BASH ‘08(S)
NBC
14,436,000

9
CRIMINAL MINDS
CBS
14,304,000

10
VOTE 2008-9:00PM(S)
ABC
14,185,000

Source: The Nielsen Company (November 3 – 9, 2008).

CBS’s “Numbers,” “NCIS,” and “Ghost Whisperer” claimed the top three spots in Nielsen’s ranking of the top primetime telecasts on broadcast TV for Friday, November 7, 2008.
ABC’s “20/20″ and FOX’s “Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader?” rounded out the top five.

Rank
Program
Network
Viewers (P2+)

1
NUMB3RS
CBS
11,275,000

2
NCIS FRIDAY 9PM-SPECIAL(S)-11/07/2008
CBS
11,216,000

3
GHOST WHISPERER
CBS
10,888,000

4
20/20-FRI
ABC
8,235,000

5
SMARTER THAN 5TH GRADER
FOX
6,458,000

6
DEAL OR NO DEAL-FRI
NBC
5,520,000

7
SUPERNANNY
ABC
5,401,000

8
DON’T FORGET THE LYRICS
FOX
4,979,000

9
FUEGO EN LA SANGRE FRI
UNI
4,896,000

10
WIFE SWAP
ABC
4,587,000

Source: The Nielsen Company (November 7, 2008).

Overall, CBS won the night with an average audience of just over 11.1 million viewers, while ABC took second place with almost 6.1 million average …

CBS’s “CSI” and “Survivor: Gabon” were the number one- and number three-ranked primetime telecasts on broadcast TV for Thursday, November 6, 2008.
ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy” was sandwiched in between the two, in second place.

Rank
Program
Network
Viewers (P2+)

1
CSI
CBS
18,175,000

2
GREY’S ANATOMY-THU 9PM
ABC
15,740,000

3
SURVIVOR: GABON
CBS
12,013,000

4
ELEVENTH HOUR
CBS
10,902,000

5
UGLY BETTY
ABC
8,917,000

6
LIFE ON MARS
ABC
8,711,000

7
E.R.
NBC
8,608,000

8
OFFICE
NBC
8,545,000

9
30 ROCK
NBC
8,069,000

10
MY NAME IS EARL
NBC
6,700,000

Source: The Nielsen Company (November 6, 2008).

Overall, CBS won the night with an average audience of just over 13.7 million viewers, while ABC took second place with almost 11.2 million average viewers. NBC and Univision claimed third and fourth places with roughly 7.7 million and 4.6 …

ABC’s “Dancing With The Stars” was the top-rated primetime telecast on broadcast TV for November 5, 2008.  The program drew just over 15.8 million average viewers Wednesday night.
CBS’s “Criminal Minds” and “CSI: NY” rounded out the top three, with 14.3 million and 11.8 million average viewers, respectively.

Rank
Program
Network
Viewers (P2+)

1
DANCING W/STARS RESULT SP(S)-11/05/2008
ABC
15,848,000

2
CRIMINAL MINDS
CBS
14,304,000

3
CSI: NY
CBS
11,801,000

4
BONES
FOX
10,172,000

5
PRIVATE PRACTICE
ABC
9,171,000

6
LAW AND ORDER
NBC
7,936,000

7
HOUSE-WED 9P
FOX
6,654,000

8
OLD CHRISTINE
CBS
6,497,000

9
GARY UNMARRIED
CBS
6,326,000

10
DIRTY SEXY MONEY
ABC
6,151,000

Source: The Nielsen Company (November 5, 2008).

Overall, CBS won the night with an average audience of just over 10.8 million viewers, while ABC took second place with almost 10.5 million …