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 …

ABC’s “Dancing With the Stars” was the number one-ranked primetime telecast on broadcast TV for Monday, October 27, 2008. 
Game 5 of the MLB World Series, which aired on FOX, claimed second place, and CBS’s “Two And A Half Men” rounded out the top three.

Rank
Program
Network
Viewers (P2+)

1
DANCING WITH THE STARS
ABC
18,876,000

2
FOX WORLD SERIES GAME 5(S)-10/27/2008
FOX
13,237,000

3
TWO AND A HALF MEN
CBS
11,881,000

4
CSI: MIAMI
CBS
10,587,000

5
SAMANTHA WHO?
ABC
10,470,000

6
GARY UNMARRIED-MON 930 SP(S)-10/27/2008
CBS
8,654,000

7
BOSTON LEGAL
ABC
8,581,000

8
HEROES
NBC
8,189,000

9
BIG BANG THEORY, THE
CBS
7,932,000

10
HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER
CBS
7,260,000

Source: The Nielsen Company (October 27, 2008).

Overall, ABC won the night with an average audience of almost 14.2 million viewers, while FOX …

ABC’s “Dancing With The Stars” was the number one-ranked primetime broadcast for October 20, 2008.  The telecast drew almost 18.5 million average viewers Monday evening.
CBS’s “Two And A Half Men” (14.6 million average viewers) and “CSI: Miami” (13.5 million average viewers) rounded out the top three programs for the night.

Rank
Program
Network
Viewers (P2+)

1
DANCING WITH THE STARS
ABC
18,497,000

2
TWO AND A HALF MEN
CBS
14,630,000

3
CSI: MIAMI
CBS
13,505,000

4
WORST WEEK
CBS
9,875,000

5
SAMANTHA WHO?
ABC
9,636,000

6
HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER
CBS
9,446,000

7
BIG BANG THEORY, THE
CBS
9,331,000

8
HEROES
NBC
8,510,000

9
BOSTON LEGAL
ABC
8,137,000

10
CHUCK
NBC
6,872,000

Source: The Nielsen Company (October 20, 2008).

Overall, ABC won the night with an average audience of almost 13.7 million viewers, while CBS …

ABC’s “Dancing With The Stars” claimed the number one spot on Nielsen’s ranking of the top-rated primetime telecasts on broadcast TV for Monday, October 13, 2008.
CBS dominated the rest of Nielsen’s top 10 list, with “Two And Half Men,” “CSI: Miami,” “Worst Week,” “The Big Bang Theory,” and “How I Met Your Mother” claiming five of the nine remaining slots.

RANK
PROGRAM
NETWORK
VIEWERS (P2+)

1
DANCING WITH THE STARS
ABC
17,765,000

2
TWO AND A HALF MEN
CBS
14,719,000

3
CSI: MIAMI
CBS
13,217,000

4
SAMANTHA WHO?
ABC
11,446,000

5
WORST WEEK
CBS
9,754,000

6
BIG BANG THEORY, THE
CBS
9,337,000

7
HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER
CBS
9,249,000

8
HEROES
NBC
8,753,000

9
BOSTON LEGAL
ABC
8,015,000

10
FOX MLB NLCS GAME 4(S)-10/13/2008
FOX
7,705,000

Source: The Nielsen Company (September 13, 2008).

Overall, ABC won …

ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars” was the number one-ranked primetime telecast on broadcast TV for Monday, October 6, 2008.
CBS’s “Two and a Half Men,” “CSI: Miami,” “The Big Bang Theory,” “How I Met Your Mother,” and “Worst Week” dominated the next five slots in Nielsen’s ranking.

RANK
NAME
NETWORK
VIEWERS (P2+)

1
DANCING WITH THE STARS
ABC
18,592,000

2
TWO AND A HALF MEN
CBS
14,073,000

3
CSI: MIAMI
CBS
13,884,000

4
BIG BANG THEORY, THE
CBS
9,394,000

5
HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER
CBS
8,977,000

6
WORST WEEK
CBS
8,848,000

7
BOSTON LEGAL
ABC
8,746,000

8
HEROES
NBC
8,198,000

9
CHUCK
NBC
5,832,000

10
TERMINATOR: SRH CNR CHRON
FOX
5,726,000

Source: The Nielsen Company (October 6, 2008).

Overall, ABC won the night with an average audience of just over 15.3 million viewers, while CBS took …