Testifying at a public forum of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Susan Whiting, Vice Chair of The Nielsen Company, urged the body to tread carefully in evaluating the need for regulating emerging online and mobile video platforms.

Each week, Nielsen analysts offer their take on the biggest sports media headlines.
The NHL is hoping old acquaintances will provide an unforgettable New Year’s Day in its second annual Winter Classic. The Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks – two of the original six hockey teams – will drop the puck outdoors at historic Wrigley Field- home to baseball’s Chicago Cubs.
Last year’s inaugural outdoor game provided a memorable tableaux, with Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby carving through the Buffalo snow to score the winning goal in an overtime shootout in front of …

NFL games airing in primetime are breaking records this season, and they share one common denominator: the Dallas Cowboys.
First it was the thrilling September 15th matchup with the Philadelphia Eagles on ESPN’s Monday Night Football.  The Cowboys prevailed in a 41-37 shootout watched by 18.6 million viewers, the most ever for a cable program.

According to data from Nielsen IAG, a CoverGirl tie-in with the CW’s “America’s Next Top Model” was the most recalled new “hybrid” ad during the four weeks between October 27 and November 23, 2008.
Hybrid Ads include customized ads, branded promos, vignettes, interstitials, and micro-series where sponsor messaging is combined with program or entertainment content.
Recall refers to the percentage of television viewers who can recall, within 24 hours, a hybrid ad’s sponsor.

CBS’s “Criminal Minds” and “CSI: NY” were the number one- and two-ranked primetime telecasts on broadcast TV for Wednesday, November 26, 2008.
ABC’s “Barbara Walters Special” rounded out the top three.

Rank
Program
Network
Viewers (P2+)

1
CRIMINAL MINDS
CBS
14,108,000

2
CSI: NY
CBS
12,304,000

3
BARBARA WALTERS SP-11/26(S)-11/26/2008
ABC
11,612,000

4
BONES
FOX
9,867,000

5
GARY UNMARRIED
CBS
7,631,000

6
OLD CHRISTINE
CBS
7,483,000

7
PRIVATE PRACTICE
ABC
6,334,000

8
LAW AND ORDER
NBC
6,330,000

9
DEAL OR NO DEAL-WED
NBC
6,319,000

10
FUEGO EN LA SANGRE WED
UNI
5,506,000

Source: The Nielsen Company (November 25, 2008).

Overall, CBS won the night with an average audience of just over 11.3 million viewers, while ABC took second place with just over 7.4 million average viewers. FOX and NBC claimed third and fourth places with roughly 7.3 …

ABC’s “Dancing With The Stars” was the number one-ranked primetime telecast on broadcast TV for Tuesday, November 25, 2008 with approximately 20.6 million average viewers.
CBS’s “NCIS” and “The Mentalist” rounded out the top three with approximately 18.1 and 15.9 million average viewers respectively.

Rank
Program
Network
Viewers (P2+)

1
DANCING W/STARS RESULTS
ABC
20,647,000

2
NCIS
CBS
18,118,000

3
MENTALIST, THE
CBS
15,925,000

4
HOUSE
FOX
12,877,000

5
CHARLIE BROWN THANKSGVING(S)-11/25/2008
ABC
11,085,000

6
WITHOUT A TRACE
CBS
10,416,000

7
LAW AND ORDER:SVU
NBC
8,589,000

8
FRINGE
FOX
7,704,000

9
BIGGEST LOSER 6
NBC
6,875,000

10
FUEGO EN LA SANGRE TUE
UNI
5,335,000

Source: The Nielsen Company (November 25, 2008).

Overall, ABC won the night with an average audience of almost 17.5 million viewers, while CBS took second place with just over 14.8 million average viewers. …

Rank
Program
Network
Viewers (P2+)

1
60 MINUTES
CBS
18,471,000

2
CSI
CBS
18,175,000

3
NBC SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL
NBC
17,564,000

4
DANCING WITH THE STARS
ABC
17,089,000

5
DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES
ABC
15,854,000

6
DANCING W/STARS RESULT SP(S)
ABC
15,848,000

7
GREY’S ANATOMY-THU 9PM
ABC
15,740,000

8
SNL PRESIDENTIAL BASH ‘08(S)
NBC
14,436,000

9
CRIMINAL MINDS
CBS
14,304,000

10
VOTE 2008-9:00PM(S)
ABC
14,185,000

Source: The Nielsen Company (November 3 – 9, 2008).

CBS’s “Numbers,” “NCIS,” and “Ghost Whisperer” claimed the top three spots in Nielsen’s ranking of the top primetime telecasts on broadcast TV for Friday, November 7, 2008.
ABC’s “20/20″ and FOX’s “Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader?” rounded out the top five.

Rank
Program
Network
Viewers (P2+)

1
NUMB3RS
CBS
11,275,000

2
NCIS FRIDAY 9PM-SPECIAL(S)-11/07/2008
CBS
11,216,000

3
GHOST WHISPERER
CBS
10,888,000

4
20/20-FRI
ABC
8,235,000

5
SMARTER THAN 5TH GRADER
FOX
6,458,000

6
DEAL OR NO DEAL-FRI
NBC
5,520,000

7
SUPERNANNY
ABC
5,401,000

8
DON’T FORGET THE LYRICS
FOX
4,979,000

9
FUEGO EN LA SANGRE FRI
UNI
4,896,000

10
WIFE SWAP
ABC
4,587,000

Source: The Nielsen Company (November 7, 2008).

Overall, CBS won the night with an average audience of just over 11.1 million viewers, while ABC took second place with almost 6.1 million average …

CBS’s “CSI” and “Survivor: Gabon” were the number one- and number three-ranked primetime telecasts on broadcast TV for Thursday, November 6, 2008.
ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy” was sandwiched in between the two, in second place.

Rank
Program
Network
Viewers (P2+)

1
CSI
CBS
18,175,000

2
GREY’S ANATOMY-THU 9PM
ABC
15,740,000

3
SURVIVOR: GABON
CBS
12,013,000

4
ELEVENTH HOUR
CBS
10,902,000

5
UGLY BETTY
ABC
8,917,000

6
LIFE ON MARS
ABC
8,711,000

7
E.R.
NBC
8,608,000

8
OFFICE
NBC
8,545,000

9
30 ROCK
NBC
8,069,000

10
MY NAME IS EARL
NBC
6,700,000

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

Overall, CBS won the night with an average audience of just over 13.7 million viewers, while ABC took second place with almost 11.2 million average viewers. NBC and Univision claimed third and fourth places with roughly 7.7 million and 4.6 …

ABC’s “Dancing With The Stars” was the top-rated primetime telecast on broadcast TV for November 5, 2008.  The program drew just over 15.8 million average viewers Wednesday night.
CBS’s “Criminal Minds” and “CSI: NY” rounded out the top three, with 14.3 million and 11.8 million average viewers, respectively.

Rank
Program
Network
Viewers (P2+)

1
DANCING W/STARS RESULT SP(S)-11/05/2008
ABC
15,848,000

2
CRIMINAL MINDS
CBS
14,304,000

3
CSI: NY
CBS
11,801,000

4
BONES
FOX
10,172,000

5
PRIVATE PRACTICE
ABC
9,171,000

6
LAW AND ORDER
NBC
7,936,000

7
HOUSE-WED 9P
FOX
6,654,000

8
OLD CHRISTINE
CBS
6,497,000

9
GARY UNMARRIED
CBS
6,326,000

10
DIRTY SEXY MONEY
ABC
6,151,000

Source: The Nielsen Company (November 5, 2008).

Overall, CBS won the night with an average audience of just over 10.8 million viewers, while ABC took second place with almost 10.5 million …