Take Atlanta, Kansas City, Los Angeles, New York City, and San Francisco – five of 21 cities that are home to some of the nation’s most voracious media consumers.  According to a study of entertainment consumption in 65 major U.S. cities, released Monday by Nielsen PreView, residents of these cities love opening weekend movie-going, rock concerts, reality TV, and newspapers.

In contrast, residents of Bakersfield (California), El Paso, Flint/Saginaw/Bay City (Michigan), Memphis, Miami/Fort Lauderdale, and San Antonio have one-track entertainment minds: they flock to movie theaters for new releases, but eschew almost all other forms of entertainment, ranking lowest nationwide in newspaper and reality TV consumption, according to Nielsen. 

Chicagoans, Pittsburghers, Bostonians, and residents of Green Bay (Wisconsin) were similarly single-minded – about sports.  Never mind the movies, these cities love heading to the stadium for a game – or perhaps a rock concert, according to Nielsen.

Read Nielsen PreView’s complete report.

College Football: Quartet Of Upsets
Oregon State’s stunning upset of top ranked USC was only the harbinger of what was to come in a wild weekend of college football upsets. 

Oregon State’s victory last Thursday night drew 6.3 Million TV viewers, the largest audience for ESPN’s Thursday Night College Football this season.  The next day, the University of Michigan overcame a 19-point deficit to beat the (then) undefeated Wisconsin Badgers in front of 1.3 million ESPN viewers.

Meanwhile, the Southeastern Conference lived up to its billing as the most competitive in the nation, delivering two thrilling upsets in one night: Ole Miss topped the Florida Gators by one point, followed by the Alabama Crimson Tide’s defeat of the Georgia Bulldogs — watched by 6.7 million ESPN viewers. 

A ranking of this season’s most watched college football games, to date, is below.

Goodbye, Shea Stadium
Mets fans who hoped Shea Stadium would receive an October farewell were denied on the final day of this year’s baseball season — for the second consecutive year.  806,000 New York viewers, the largest audience for the Mets this season, watched Shea’s sad ending on Sunday.  Next year, the Mets will move next door, to Citi Field.

Chicago: Double Baseball Trouble
Neither New York team made it to the playoffs this year, but for the first time in more than a century, both Chicago teams are in the post-season.  The White Sox’ defeat of the Detroit Tigers drew 451,000 Chicago viewers.  The next day, the Sox’ tie-breaker victory over the Minnesota Twins nearly doubled its Chicago TV audience — to 750,000 viewers — setting a new record in the process.