Nearly 37.8 million Americans watching at home viewed President Barack Obama’s oath of office and inaugural speech between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. ET on January 20, 2009.  This is the most viewed inauguration since the record of 41.8 million viewers who watched Ronald Reagan’s 1981 inauguration.
This is the first inaugural since Nielsen began tracking time-shifted viewing, and this year’s data is based on Live + Same Day, meaning incremental viewing during the same broadcast day is included.
Download the complete report.

President
Date
HH Rating
Households
Viewers …

On Tuesday, January 20th, Americans will witness history with the inauguration of the 44th President of the United States, Barack Obama.  How will this event compare with other inaugurations over the past 40 years?  Nielsen has compiled data about inaugural viewership since 1969.
Key findings are:

Ronald Reagan’s 1981 inauguration drew the most viewers – almost 42 million.

First time inaugurations of two-term presidents drew higher ratings than their second (exception: Nixon in 1973).

The …

Sunday’s broadcast of the 2009 Golden Globe Awards, which featured wins by the TV show “30 Rock,” the film “Slumdog Millionaire,” actor Mickey Rourke, and actress Kate Winslet, drew nearly 14.9 million U.S. viewers.
By comparison, the 2004 Golden Globes drew the largest U.S. television audience (26.8 million viewers) of any Golden Globes telecast in the past 10 years.
Last year’s Golden Globe Awards – aired as a one-hour press conference, due to an ongoing “writers’ strike” – drew just over 6 million viewers.
View Golden Globes TV ratings from 1998 to 2008, below.

The 2001 World Series telecasts (New York Yankees vs. Arizona Diamondbacks) claimed the largest U.S. TV audiences in recent memory: 24.5 million viewers per telecast, on average. 
But the late Seventies and early Eighties remain the true glory days of World Series TV viewership.
The 1980 World Series telecasts — the last time the Philadelphia Phillies won a World Series — drew the largest per game TV audiences on record: almost 54.9 million average viewers.

YEAR
NETWORKS
TOTAL RATING
TOTAL HOMES

2004
Total- ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, MSNBC, FOXNC
15.3*
16,809,000*

2000
Total- ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, MSNBC, FOXNC
13.9**
14,042,000**

1996
Total– ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, PBS
16.5***
15,756,000***

1992
Total– ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, PBS
20.5
20,000,000

1988
Total– ABC, CBS, NBC
18.3
16,200,000

1984
Total– ABC, CBS, NBC
19.2
16,200,000

1980
Total– ABC, CBS, NBC
21.6
16,500,000

1976
Total– ABC, CBS, NBC
31.5
21,900,000

1972
Total– ABC, CBS, NBC
23.4
14,400,000

1968
Total– ABC, CBS, NBC
26.4
15,000,000

1964
Total– ABC, CBS, NBC
21.8
11,130,000

1960
Total– ABC, CBS, NBC
28
12,596,000

Source: The Nielsen Company (1960 – 2004)

Presidential nominating conventions are held in July and August with the party holding the Presidency scheduling its convention last. Changes in the parties’ primary system have impacted the conventions in recent campaigns.

*2004 data based on the …

YEAR
NETWORKS
TOTAL RATING
TOTAL HOMES

2004
Total- ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, MSNBC, FOXNC
14.3*
15,537,000*

2000
Total- ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, MSNBC, FOXNC
15.3**
15,380,000**

1996
Total– ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, PBS
17.2
16,418,000

1992
Total– ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, PBS
22
20,500,000

1988
Total– ABC, CBS, NBC
19.8
17,400,000

1984
Total– ABC, CBS, NBC
23.4
19,500,000

1980
Total– ABC, CBS, NBC
27
20,700,000

1976
Total– ABC, CBS, NBC
25.2
17,400,000

1972
Total– ABC, CBS, NBC
18.3
11,400,000

1968
Total– ABC, CBS, NBC
28.5
16,200,000

1964
Total– ABC, CBS, NBC
28.8
14,695,000

1960
Total– ABC, CBS, NBC
29.2
13,216,000

Source: The Nielsen Company (1960 – 2004)

Presidential nominating conventions are held in July and August with the party holding the Presidency scheduling its convention last. Changes in the parties’ primary system have impacted the conventions in recent campaigns.

*2004 data based on the …

With the national political conventions starting next week, pundits and the general public, alike, are scrutinizing Barack Obama’s and John McCain’s campaign strategies.
On Thursday, Nielsen joined the fray, releasing an analysis of the candidates’ online presence and buzz, their advertising campaigns, and TV viewership for past conventions. 
Online Audience and Videos Viewed
BarackObama.com’s unique audience was twice as large as JohnMcCain.com’s in both June and July 2008.  However, in July, the number of video streams on JohnMcCain.com more than doubled, possibly due to press coverage around Senator John McCain’s ad that compared …