Nielsen Wire » historical TV ratings

Nearly 37.8 Million Watch President Obama’s Oath And Speech On TV

Nielsen Wire — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 23:57:03 +0000

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 P2+
Barack Obama	January 20, 2009 -Tues	25.5	28,906,061	37,793,008
Ronald Reagan	January 20, 1981-Tue	37.4	29,100,000	41,800,260
Richard Nixon	January 20, 1969 – Mon	33.5	18,870,000	27,007,700
Jimmy Carter	January 20, 1977-Thu	31.5	22,430,000	34,127,090
Richard Nixon	January 20, 1973-Sat	28.5	18,470,000	32,950,900
Bill Clinton	January 20, 1993-Wed	24.5	22,758,111	29,721,041
Ronald Reagan	January 20, 1985-Sun	22.3	18,925,556	25,053,886
George W. Bush	January 20, 2001-Sat	20.8	21,346,400	29,008,200
George H.W. Bush	January 20, 1989-Fri	20	18,106,000	23,316,325
Bill Clinton	January 20, 1997-Mon	17.1	16,515,000	21,583,000
George W. Bush	January 20, 2005-Thu	11.8	12,928,709	15,536,652
© 2009 The Nielsen Company

RELATED: Nielsen Online traffic data for News, Current Event, and Video Streaming on Inauguration Day.

From Nixon To Bush 43: Presidential Inauguration Ratings

Nielsen Wire — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 18:50:18 +0000

On Tuesday, January 20th, Americans will witness history with the inauguration of the 44^th 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 least watched inauguration since 1969: George W. Bush in 2005, with 15.5 million.

Click this link for complete inauguration ratings 1969-2005

PRESIDENT	DATE	Viewers P2+
G.W.Bush	1/20/2005	15,536,652
G.W.Bush	1/20/2001	29,008,200
Clinton	1/20/1997	21,583,000
Clinton	1/20/1993	29,721,041
G.H.Bush	1/20/1989	23,316,325
Reagan	1/20/1985	25,053,886
Reagan	1/20/1981	41,800,260
Carter	1/20/1977	34,127,090
Nixon	1/20/1973	32,950,900
Nixon	1/20/1969	27,007,700
Source: © 2009 The Nielsen Company

The Golden Globes On TV: Historical Audience Ratings

admin — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 15:08:55 +0000

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.

Date	Time Aired	Day Aired	Network	Viewers (P2+)
1/13/2008*^	9-10:00PM	Sunday	NBC	6,038,000
1/15/2007*	8-11:00PM	Monday	NBC	20,036,000
1/16/2006*	8-11:00PM	Monday	NBC	18,765,000
1/16/2005	8-11:00PM	Sunday	NBC	16,845,000
1/25/2004	8-11:00PM	Sunday	NBC	26,803,000
1/19/2003	8-11:00PM	Sunday	NBC	20,097,000
1/20/2002	8-11:00PM	Sunday	NBC	23,451,000
1/21/2001	8-11:01PM	Sunday	NBC	22,493,000
1/23/2000	8-11:04PM	Sunday	NBC	22,107,000
1/24/1999	8-11:07PM	Sunday	NBC	24,180,000
* Note: Live+Same Day viewing estimates include DVR playback on the same day, defined as 3AM-3AM.
^ Note: In 2008, the Golden Globes was a press conference only, due to the “Writer’s Strike”.
Source: The Nielsen Company (1998 – 2008).

MLB World Series Preview: Historical U.S. TV Ratings

admin — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 17:52:10 +0000

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.

In terms of household ratings, the 1978 (Yankees vs. Los Angeles Dodgers) and 1980 World Series telecasts drew the highest ever ratings (since 1968, when Nielsen started keeping track), with an average of 32.8% of all U.S. households tuning in, per telecast, during both Series.

In comparison World Series TV audiences in the last decade have hovered between 15 million and 25 million U.S. viewers, on average, each year.

Last year, FOX’s broadcasts of games one through four of the Colorado Rockies vs. Boston Red Sox series drew an average of 17.1 million viewers per telecast — up slightly from almost 15.8 million viewers in 2006, the smallest World Series TV audience on record. (Nielsen’s World Series TV audience data dates back to 1973).

View complete game by game historical TV ratings for World Series telecasts from 1968 to present.

View series average historical World Series TV ratings from 1968 to present.

Historical TV Ratings: Republican Conventions

admin — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 13:57:17 +0000

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 sum of Rep. Convention Coverage during Common Coverage Time Periods: CNN, FOXNC, MSNBC= Monday 10-11:00PM; ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, FOXNC, MSNBC = Tuesday and Wednesday: 10-11:00PM; ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, FOXNC, MSNBC* = Thursday: 10-11:15PM. (*coverage includes sustained programs).
**2000 data based on the sum of Rep. Convention Coverage during Common Coverage Time Periods: ABC, CNN, MSNBC, FOXNC=Mon-Thu appr.10-11pm; CBS=Wed-Thu appr. 10-11pm; NBC=Tue-Thu appr. 10-11pm.
***The Family Channel also aired the ‘96 Republican Convention but is not included in the Total Rating and Total Homes.

Historical TV Ratings: Democratic Conventions

admin — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 13:48:22 +0000

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 sum of Dem. Convention Coverage during Common Coverage Time Periods: ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, MSNBC, FOXNC = Mon, Wed, Thur. 10-11:00pm; CNN, MSNBC, FOXNC = Tues appr. 10-11pm.
**2000 data based on the sum of Dem. Convention Coverage during Common Coverage Time periods: ABC, CNN, MSNBC, FOXNC = Mon appr. 10-11:45p, and Tues through Thurs. appr. 10-11pm; NBC= Mon 10:30-11:45p, Wed-Thu 10-11pm; CBS=Wed-Thu appr. 10-11pm

Nielsen’s Pre-Convention Campaign Scorecard

admin — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 14:23:48 +0000

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 Senator Barack Obama to Paris Hilton.

Blogosphere Buzz
Senator Obama maintains the lead in overall buzz volume on blogs and message boards. Between June 1 and August 17, Senator Obama was mentioned on blogs twice as frequently as Senator McCain.

Online Advertising
During the summer, the “Obama for America” image-based online advertising campaign increased fivefold — from 80 million impressions in June to 417 million impressions in July.

TV Advertising
During June and July 2008, Senators Obama and McCain targeted their local TV spots at key battleground states including Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. Between June 4, when campaigning for the general election began, and August 1, Senator McCain ran significantly fewer local TV spots (57,132) than Senator Obama (70,381), but placed more than twice as many national cable ads (526) as Senator Obama (142).

TV Viewership: Past Conventions
Since 1960, only three Republican National Conventions have drawn more television households than the Democratic National Convention: 1972 (presumptive nominee Richard Nixon), 1976 (presumptive nominee Gerald Ford), and 2004 (presumptive nominee George W. Bush).

View the full press release.

Read coverage of Nielsen’s findings in The Wall Street Journal, The Boston Globe, the Los Angeles Times, the Tampa Bay Business Journal, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, TV Week, Multichannel News, and Media Post.