According to a Nielsen analysis released Tuesday, “hockey moms” — defined as women ages 25 to 54 who live in homes with children and who watched at least six minutes of the most recent Stanley Cup Finals on NBC – were more likely than average moms to watch the first two debates of the 2008 election.

Last Thursday, Sen. Joe Biden and Gov. Sarah Palin’s V.P. debate drew 23.8% of all mothers (ages 25 to 54), while 33% of those women defined as “hockey moms” tuned in.  Overall, “hockey moms” were 38.7% more likely than average moms to have watched the V.P. debate.

In comparison, the first debate between Senators McCain and Obama, on Sept. 26, drew 16.5% of all mothers (25 to 54).  Among those classified as “hockey moms,” however, 21.3% tuned in to the debate, making “hockey moms” 29.1% more likely than average moms to have watched the McCain and Obama’s debate.

Read coverage of Nielsen’s findings in the Boston Herald and Broadcasting & Cable.

Nearly two-thirds of all U.S. households (64.5%) — 120.1 million people age two or older — watched at least one of the 2008 political conventions, according to a new analysis released Thursday by Nielsen. 

Viewership levels for the Democratic and Republican conventions were essentially even, with about half of all U.S. households watching each.  Overall, 15% of all homes tuned in to the Republican National Convention only, while 15.7% tuned in to just the Democratic National Convention.  Another 33.9% of all households tuned in to both conventions.

Homes that watched both conventions were likely to be older (age 65+) and better educated (32.3% had college degrees) than viewers who watched only one of the conventions. 

RNC-only households were usually bigger (four people or more), had higher incomes ($100,000+), and were more likely to be white, while DNC-only households were smaller (two people), less wealthy ($20,000 or less), and more likely to be African American.

One-fifth (21.2%) of DNC-only homes were headed by an African American, while 83.5% of RNC-only homes were headed someone who is white.

Similar percentages of African American and white viewers tuned in to both conventions (35.7% and 34.5%, respectively).  Among African Americans, 27.4% watched only the DNC, and only 8.1% watched only the RNC.  Meanwhile, 16.2% of white viewers watched the RNC only, and 13.6% watched the DNC only.

Read the full report — and stay tuned during the presidential debates for more Nielsen TV audience analyses.

Read coverage of Nielsen’s findings in the Baltimore Sun, The Boston Globe, Broadcasting & Cable, and Multichannel News.

The Vice Presidential message (sent in the late hours of Friday night) is, by many accounts, the single largest mobile marketing event ever in the U.S.

“From a mobile perspective, it makes sense that the campaign chose to use text-messages,” Nic Covey, Director of Insights, Nielsen Mobile, noted. “Today, 116 million U.S. mobile subscribers (52 percent of subscribers) actively use text messaging, making it a new mass medium for marketing efforts.”

Obama’s VP text-message is already being seen as one of the most important text messages ever sent, and one of the most successful brand engagements using mobile media. “The value of the message goes far beyond the 26 words and 2.9 million recipients,” Covey said. “Here, Obama branded himself as cutting edge, inflated the already enormous press attention paid to his VP pick and further established a list of supporters’ most coveted form of contact: their cell phone numbers.”

Read coverage of Nielsen’s findings in Newsday and the Los Angeles Times.