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.

Is football more popular than ever? If last weekend was an indication then it very well may be. FOX’s 4pm NFL telecast drew 25.1 million viewers, making it the most-watched opening Sunday NFL game since at least 1987.

Apparently the Dallas Cowboys are also America’s “Online” Team as well. Thanks to their strong national following, as well their headline-grabbing new stadium, the Cowboys lead all teams in online buzz during the last 90 days, capturing 7.0 percent of the online NFL discussions on blogs, boards and groups.

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 …

A review of Nielsen’s Video Game Tracking data (tabulated weekly since July 2005) for the Madden football franchise reaffirms that Madden is a household name among active gamers like AAA brands such as Halo, Grand Theft Auto, Call of Duty and Mario. August usually belongs to Madden, with few other notable titles released during this time. Below are insights into this year’s iteration, Madden NFL 10.

Madden NFL 10 dominates the sports genre in several metrics, including unaided and aided awareness and definite purchase interest among active gamers.

Key …

The appeal of the NFL draft to fans is soaring, with viewership jumping 62 percent over the last six years, according to Nielsen data.
Last year, more than five million viewers tuned in to watch a draft where an offensive tackle (Jake Long) who had already agreed to a deal earlier in the week with Miami was drafted by the Dolphins as the number one pick. That’s almost two million more viewers than in 2002 when the Houston Texans drafted top pick David Carr, whom the franchise hoped would be their …

Advertisers during Super Bowl XLIII reached the largest audience of any Super Bowl game — the second most-viewed television event of all-time, according to Nielsen.  Ads for Bud Light Lime and GoDaddy.com were seen by 103.2 million viewers last Sunday.
According to Nielsen’s annual report on Super Bowl advertising and overall viewing, an average of 98.7 million U.S. viewers tuned in to the game.  Almost 152 million people watched the last six minutes of the game, giving it the largest reach by a TV event ever.
Other key findings include:

Total commercial airtime …

Final results released by The Nielsen Company show that the Super Bowl matchup between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Arizona Cardinals was the most watched Super Bowl ever, eclipsing last year’s thriller between New York and New England. The broadcast, which featured a halftime performance by Bruce Springsteen, had an average viewership of 98.7 million viewers.

RANK
SUPER BOWL
WINNER
LOSER
AVG # OF VIEWERS
P2+

1
2009
Pittsburgh
Arizona
98,732,000

2
2008
New York
New England
97,448,000

3
1996
Dallas
Pittsburgh
94,080,000

4
2007
Indianapolis
Chicago
93,184,000

5
1986
Chicago
New England
92,570,000

6
1993
Dallas
Buffalo
90,990,000

7
2006
Pittsburgh
Seattle
90,745,000

8
1998
Denver
Green Bay
90,000,000

9
1994
Dallas
Buffalo
90,000,000

10
2004
New England
Carolina
89,795,000

Source: 2009 The Nielsen Company

With all the anticipation surrounding Sunday’s big game, an analysis of national and local ratings from past Super Bowls provides insight into the viewership of this year’s matchup:

In terms of DMA’s (Designated Market Area), Phoenix is ranked 12th and Pittsburgh 23rd of the 56 metered markets. The 2006 Super Bowl featured a similar match-up with Seattle, ranked the 13th largest DMA, against Pittsburgh, then 22nd. That game received a 57.4 rating in Pittsburgh and 54.4 in Seattle (compared to 41.6 nationally).

From 1999-2008, the highest single-year metered market performance was delivered in Jacksonville …

In the run-up to Super Bowl XLIII, Nielsen has compiled a list of the 10 most-watched Super Bowls.
UPDATE: The chart below has been updated to reflect Super Bowl XLIII’s ratings

RANK
SUPER BOWL
WINNER
LOSER
AVG # OF VIEWERS
P2+

1
2009
Pittsburgh
Arizona
98,732,000

2
2008
New York
New England
97,448,000

3
1996
Dallas
Pittsburgh
94,080,000

4
2007
Indianapolis
Chicago
93,184,000

5
1986
Chicago
New England
92,570,000

6
1993
Dallas
Buffalo
90,990,000

7
2006
Pittsburgh
Seattle
90,745,000

8
1998
Denver
Green Bay
90,000,000

9
1994
Dallas
Buffalo
90,000,000

10
2004
New England
Carolina
89,795,000

Source: 2009 The Nielsen Company

Read Nielsen’s complete Super Bowl report.