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.
Procter & Gamble was the top advertiser, spending more than $2.3 billion on traditional media advertising in the U.S. through September 30.  General Motors and AT&T rounded out the top three advertisers.
Among the year’s most-liked commercials, ads by the NFL, Budweiser, and Geico were most popular with American audiences. 
Product placements by CVS (on “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition”), TRESemme (on “Project Runway”), and …

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.
FOX’s “American Idol” was the top TV program of 2008, according to Nielsen.  Tuesday night broadcasts of “American Idol,” through December 7, drew 15.5% of U.S. TV households, on average, while Wednesday night “American Idol” broadcasts drew an average of 15.3% of all TV households.
Viewers with DVR access gave NBC’s “Heroes” the biggest bump any primetime program received in 2008.  The average …

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” …

TV, Internet, and mobile usage continues to grow in the U.S., according to a report released today by Nielsen.
As of Q3 2008, the average American watched approximately 142 hours of TV per month — five hours more than they watched in a typical month during the same period a year ago.
Americans who used the Internet were online 27 hours a month, and people who used a mobile phone spent 3 hours a month watching mobile video.
Men were more likely than women to watch via mobile phone, while women were more likely then …

According to a new report by Nielsen PreView, Entertainment-hungry Americans are rapidly embracing new devices and technology. The report, sourced from Nielsen’s quarterly Home Technology Report, analyzed device and subscription patterns from 2004 through 2007 and discovered that consumers are quickly adopting many new technologies and swapping out their old technology for the new.
Among the findings in the report, new technologies like Video-On-Demand (VOD) usage rose by more than 150%. Meanwhile many consumers have begun to switch out their old basic cable for more advanced digital cable. …