The Nielsen Company analyzed online discussions among 25 high-profile athletes and medal winners involved in the Winter Olympics and found that American speed skater Apolo Ohno is the most buzzed-about athlete so far.

More than 48 million viewers across 34 million homes tuned into to President Obama’s State of the Union address which was broadcast on 11 networks.

The Nielsen Company revealed the impact that a performance on the Sunday Results programme of the UK series X Factor had on digital download sales (online and mobile), online buzz and radio airplay for the special guest stars promoting a track.

In its first week of publication, Going Rogue: An American Life by former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin was the highest-selling book of the week in the U.S. according to Nielsen Bookscan.

With American consumers set to spend less over holidays, many are focused on stretching their dollars as Black Friday, the biggest shopping day of the year, approaches.

2010 will be huge test, as new realities of consumer expression and cross-platform integration create a powerful new dynamic hovering over the largest single-spot ad spend on record.

Despite increased optimism about the economy, the social media landscape indicates that we are in a similar place to where we were this time last year.

Maggie Gray, Research Analyst, Online Division
When Sen. Edward Kennedy died late on Tuesday Aug. 25, a year after his 2008 appearance at the Democratic National Convention in Denver, news coverage and online discussion began in earnest as soon as the Kennedy family made the announcement.
By the end of Wednesday (Aug. 26) Kennedy attracted nearly 1% of all blog buzz, according to Nielsen’s BlogPulse search engine, and by Thursday morning (Aug. 27), he was the most-discussed person in the blogosphere. His New York Times obituary was also the most-cited news …

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 …

Melissa Davies, Healthcare Research Director, Online Division
Just as the offline conversation about health care reform is growing in the U.S., we are watching the online discussion grow and evolve as well. In the past month, health care reform discussions have increased by more than 1,000 percent, outpacing the online talk surrounding Swine Flu and the government’s “Cash for Clunkers” program.

President Obama is keenly aware of the important role that bloggers play in sharing information about health care reform. On July 20, the President called for bloggers to help drum up …