ABC’s primetime coverage of the final day of the Democratic National Convention led in viewership drawing an average audience of roughly 6.6 million viewers. The event featured the widely viewed acceptance speech by Sen. Barack Obama.
Convention coverage from NBC and CBS also made their way into the top 10.

RANK
NAME
NETWORK
VIEWERS (P2+)

1
VOTE2008:DEM NAT CONV-THU(S)-08/28/2008
ABC
6,584,000

2
DECISION ‘08 DEM CONV THU(S)-08/28/2008
NBC
6,100,000

3
BIG BROTHER 10-THU
CBS
5,969,000

4
CSI
CBS
5,297,000

5
MOMENT OF TRUTH 8/28-9P(S)-08/28/2008
FOX
5,179,000

6
AL DIABLO CON GUAPOS THU
UNI
5,127,000

7
CAMPAIGN 2008-DEM CONV-TH(S)-08/28/2008
CBS
4,722,000

8
FUEGO EN LA SANGRE THU
UNI
4,685,000

9
GREY’S ANATOMY-THU 9PM
ABC
4,008,000

10
MOMENT OF TRUTH 8/28-8P(S)-08/28/2008
FOX
3,690,000

Source: The Nielsen Company (August 28, 2008)

Overall, NBC won the night with an average audience …

For the second night in a row, NBC’s “America’s Got Talent” claimed the top spot in Nielsen’s ranking of primetime broadcast TV programs.
The telecast drew an average audience of 10.3 million viewers, while CBS’s “Criminal Minds” and FOX’s special presentation of “Bones” were ranked second and third, respectively, with 6.9 million and almost 6.1 million average viewers each.
Coverage of the third night of the Democratic National Convention on NBC, CBS, and ABC also made the top ten.

RANK
NAME
NETWORK
VIEWERS (P2+)

1
AMERICA’S GOT TALENT-WED
NBC
10,344,000

2
CRIMINAL MINDS
CBS
6,930,000

3
BONES SP-8/27 9P(S)-08/27/2008
FOX
6,056,000

4
GREATEST AMERICAN DOG
CBS
5,683,000

5
BONES SP-8/27 8P(S)-08/27/2008
FOX
5,639,000

6
DECISION ‘08 DEM CONV …

NBC’s “America’s Got Talent” claimed the top spot in Nielsen’s ranking of primetime broadcast TV programs for Tuesday, August 26, 2008.
The telecast drew an average audience of 11.1 million viewers, while CBS’s “NCIS” and FOX’s “House” were ranked second and third, respectively, with 7.5 million and 6.8 million average viewers each.
Coverage of the second night of the Democratic National Convention on NBC and ABC also made the top ten.

RANK
NAME
NETWORK
VIEWERS (P2+)

1
AMERICA’S GOT TALENT
NBC
11,118,000

2
NCIS
CBS
7,453,000

3
HOUSE
FOX
6,808,000

4
WIPEOUT
ABC
6,325,000

5
BIG BROTHER 10-TUE
CBS
6,284,000

6
DECISION ‘08 DEM CONV TUE(S)-08/26/2008
NBC
5,976,000

7
AL DIABLO CON GUAPOS TUE
UNI
5,317,000

8
FUEGO EN LA SANGRE TUE
UNI
5,218,000

9
HOUSE-TUE 8P
FOX
4,867,000

10
VOTE2008:DEM NAT CONV-TUE(S)-08/26/2008
ABC
4,758,000

Source: The …

DATE 
NETWORK
VIEWERS (P2+)

FRIDAY, AUGUST 8, 2008
(OPENING CEREMONY)
NBC
34,891,000

SATURDAY, AUGUST 9, 2008
NBC
24,082,000

SUNDAY, AUGUST 10, 2008
NBC
32,256,000

MONDAY, AUGUST 11, 2008
NBC
30,173,000

TUESDAY, AUGUST 12, 2008
NBC
34,014,000

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 13, 2008
NBC
27,656,000

THURSDAY, AUGUST 14, 2008
NBC
29,708,000

FRIDAY, AUGUST 15, 2008
NBC
26,071,000

SATURDAY, AUGUST 16, 2008
NBC
31,593,000

SUNDAY, AUGUST 17, 2008
NBC
27,184,000

MONDAY, AUGUST 18, 2008
NBC
26,374,000

TUESDAY, AUGUST 19, 2008
NBC
26,629,000

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 20, 2008
NBC
24,755,000

THURSDAY, AUGUST 21, 2008
NBC
22,438,000

FRIDAY, AUGUST 22, 2008
NBC
17,876,000

SATURDAY, AUGUST 23, 2008
NBC
16,756,000

SUNDAY, AUGUST 24, 2008
(CLOSING CEREMONY)
NBC
27,834,000

AVERAGE OF PRIMETIME OLYMPICS COVERAGE
NBC
27,690,000

Source: The Nielsen Company (August 8, 2008 – August 24, 2008)

RANK
NAME
NETWORK
VIEWERS (P2+)

1
SUM OLYM CLOSE CEREM(S)
NBC
27,834,000

2
SUM OLYM TUE PRIME 2(S)
NBC
26,629,000

3
SUM OLYM MON PRIME 2(S)
NBC
26,374,000

4
SUM OLYM WED PRIME 2(S)
NBC
24,755,000

5
SUM OLYM THU PRIME 2(S)
NBC
22,438,000

6
BEIJING CLOSING PARTY(S)
NBC
20,577,000

7
SUM OLYM FRI PRIME 2(S)
NBC
17,876,000

8
SUM OLYM SAT PRIME 3(S)
NBC
16,756,000

9
TWO AND A HALF MEN
CBS
8,162,000

10
NCIS
CBS
7,610,000

Source: The Nielsen Company (August 18, 2008 – August 24, 2008)

NBC’s “Deal or No Deal” and “America’s Toughest Jobs” were, respectively, the number one- and number three-ranked primetime telecasts on broadcast TV for Monday, August 25, 2008.
CBS’s “Two and a Half Men” was sandwiched between the two, in second place.
NBC’s coverage of the 2008 Democratic National Convention also made the top ten.

RANK
NAME
NETWORK
VIEWERS (P2+)

1
DEAL OR NO DEAL-MON
NBC
10,999,000

2
TWO AND A HALF MEN
CBS
9,030,000

3
AMERICA’S TOUGHEST JOBS
NBC
7,298,000

4
OLD CHRISTINE
CBS
6,631,000

5
HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER
CBS
5,545,000

6
BIG BANG THEORY, THE
CBS
5,481,000

7
AL DIABLO CON GUAPOS MON
UNI
5,342,000

8
FUEGO EN LA SANGRE MON
UNI
5,167,000

9
DECISION ‘08 DEM CONV MON(S)-08/25/2008
NBC
4,706,000

10
PRISON BREAK SP-8/25 9P(S)-08/25/2008
FOX
4,288,000

Source: The Nielsen Company (August 25, …

The New York Times reports that the Summer Olympics in Beijing was the most-viewed event in American television history, according to data provided by Nielsen Media Research.
The Beijing Games surpassed the old record- 209 million viewers of the 1996 Games in Atlanta- on Saturday night. Through Saturday, 211 million viewers had watched at least some of the Games on any of NBC Universal’s networks.
On Saturday, 43 million viewers tuned in to at least a portion of NBC’s coverage. The average audience from 9 to 11 p.m. on Saturday night was 16.5 …

NBC’s broadcast of the 2008 Beijing Olympics again claimed the top slot in Nielsen’s ranking of primetime telecasts for Friday, August 22, 2008.
CBS’s “NFL Pre-Season Special” and FOX’s “Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader?” rounded out the top three.

RANK
NAME
NETWORK
VIEWERS (P2+)

1
SUM OLYM FRI PRIME 2(S)-08/22/2008
NBC
17,876,000

2
NFL PRE-SEASON(S)-08/22/2008
CBS
4,825,000

3
SMARTER THAN 5TH 8/22-9P(S)-08/22/2008
FOX
4,120,000

4
FUEGO EN LA SANGRE FRI
UNI
4,094,000

5
AL DIABLO CON GUAPOS FRI
UNI
4,006,000

6
20/20-FRI
ABC
3,844,000

7
SMARTER THAN 5TH 8/22-8P(S)-08/22/2008
FOX
3,843,000

8
ABC FRI MOVIE OF THE WK
ABC
3,790,000

9
FRIDAY NIGHT SMACKDOWN
CW
3,617,000

10
ROSA DE GUADALUPE FRI
UNI
2,700,000

Source: The Nielsen Company (August 22, 2008)

Overall, NBC won the night with an average audience of almost 17.9 million viewers, while …

NBC’s broadcast of the 2008 Beijing Olympics again claimed the top slot in Nielsen’s ranking of primetime telecasts for Thursday, August 21, 2008.
CBS’s “CSI” and “Flashpoint” rounded out the top three.

RANK
NAME
NETWORK
VIEWERS (P2+)

1
SUM OLYM THU PRIME 2(S)-08/21/2008
NBC
22,438,000

2
CSI
CBS
7,294,000

3
FLASHPOINT
CBS
7,208,000

4
BIG BROTHER 10-THU
CBS
6,167,000

5
AL DIABLO CON GUAPOS THU
UNI
4,813,000

6
FUEGO EN LA SANGRE THU
UNI
4,779,000

7
NFL ON FOX PRESEASON 3(S)-08/21/2008
FOX
4,606,000

8
GREY’S ANATOMY-THU 9PM
ABC
3,248,000

9
PRIVATE PRACTICE
ABC
3,178,000

10
UGLY BETTY
ABC
3,051,000

Source: The Nielsen Company (August 21, 2008)

Overall, NBC won the night with an average audience of just over 22.4 million viewers, while CBS took second place with almost 6.9 million average viewers. FOX and Univision claimed …

NBC’s broadcast of the 2008 Beijing Olympics again claimed the top slot in Nielsen’s ranking of primetime telecasts for Wednesday, August 20, 2008.
CBS’s “CSI: NY” and “Criminal Minds” rounded out the top three.

RANK
NAME
NETWORK
VIEWERS (P2+)

1
SUM OLYM WED PRIME 2(S)-08/20/2008
NBC
24,755,000

2
CSI: NY
CBS
6,055,000

3
CRIMINAL MINDS
CBS
5,918,000

4
AL DIABLO CON GUAPOS WED
UNI
5,056,000

5
GREATEST AMERICAN DOG
CBS
4,993,000

6
BONES SP-8/20 8P(S)-08/20/2008
FOX
4,760,000

7
FUEGO EN LA SANGRE WED
UNI
4,516,000

8
PRIMETIME: CRIME
ABC
4,086,000

9
SUPERNANNY
ABC
3,711,000

10
WIFE SWAP
ABC
3,346,000

Source: The Nielsen Company (August 20, 2008)

Overall, NBC won the night with an average audience of just under 24.8 million viewers, while CBS took second place with almost 5.7 million average viewers.  Univision and FOX claimed third …