Rank
Program
Network
Match-Up
Viewers (P2+)

1
FOX SUPER BOWL XLII
FOX
NY GIANTS VS NEW ENGLAND
97,563,000

2
FOX NFC CHAMPIONSHIP
FOX
NY GIANTS AT GREEN BAY
54,005,000

3
AFC CHAMPIONSHIP ON CBS
CBS
SAN DIEGO AT NEW ENGLAND
44,850,000

4
FOX NFC PLAYOFF-SUN
FOX
NY GIANTS AT DALLAS
40,094,000

5
SUM OLYM TUE PRIME 1
NBC
 n/a
34,586,000

6
SUM OLYM SUN PRIME 1
NBC
 n/a
32,679,000

7
SUM OLYM SAT PRIME 2
NBC
 n/a
31,890,000

8
AFC DIVISIONAL PLAYOFF-SU
CBS
SAN DIEGO AT INDIANAPOLIS
31,598,000

9
AFC DIVISIONAL PLAYOFF-SA
CBS
JACKSONVILLE AT NEW ENGLAND
30,932,000

10
SUM OLYM MON PRIME 1
NBC
 n/a
30,579,000

Source: The Nielsen Company (2008).

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 …

Olympics sponsors and their competitors ramped up their August ad budgets to maximize their exposure during the month of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
But according to Nielsen, many of China’s advertisers took a break from advertising in August, sending overall ad spending in China tumbling to levels last seen in May 2008, when the Sichuan earthquake hit and advertising was suspended for three days.
Advertising spending in China grew, year over year, by just 7% in August, Nielsen reported Monday.  In comparison, China’s ad spending grew by an average of 19% in the seven …

Columbus, OH is the number one sports town in the U.S., Scarborough Sports Marketing, a joint partnership with Nielsen and Arbitron, reported Wednesday.
Two-thirds (66%) of adults in Columbus reported being “very” interested in at least one of the 29 sports measured by Scarborough, including the major leagues, motor sports, college sports, minor leagues, and the Olympics, among others.
Boston (64%), Buffalo (63%), and Pittsburgh (63%) rounded out the top sports markets.

Tourism to China is expected to surge, following the Beijing Summer Games.
According to a 16-market survey conducted by Nielsen after the Olympics’ opening and closing ceremonies, consumers throughout the world are increasingly interested in traveling to mainland China. 
Forty-five percent of those surveyed after the Opening ceremony said they intended to travel to mainland China at some point.  Following the Closing Ceremony, that percentage increased to 51%.  For 80% of the respondents, who had never visited mainland China, it would their first trip to the country.
Meanwhile, respondents who said they had …

Among the many winners at the recent Summer Olympic Games: the city of Beijing.
According to a survey conducted by Nielsen after the closing ceremony, seven in 10 viewers across 16 countries and territories said Beijing appeared more “modern” and “high-tech” than they had expected.
Beijing also looked cleaner and greener than many viewers expected — 56% said the city’s physical environment exceeded their expectations.
Nine in 10 foreigners who visited Beijing for the Olympics also told Nielsen the city’s Olympics venues were “good” or “very good.”
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Read The Wall …

It’s official: the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games attracted the largest global TV audience ever. 
Between August 8 and August 24, 4.7 billion viewers — or 70% of the world’s population — tuned in to watch the Games, according to Nielsen.  In comparison, 3.9 billion watched the 2004 Athens Games, while 3.6 billion followed the 2000 Sydney Games on TV. 
Host nation China led the viewing with 94% of Chinese viewers tuning in to the Olympics TV coverage, Nielsen reported.  South Korea, though a much less populous nation, also recorded 94% audience reach.  Mexico followed closely with …

Olympic athletes broke 132 Olympics records and set 43 new world records during the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing.
Meanwhile, Olympics fans who logged on to the Internet to follow the events around the clock set a new online precedent during the Games,  Nielsen Online reported Wednesday.
Olympics Web Portals
In the U.S., NBC, an official broadcast partner for the event, drew an average of 18 million (week one) to 18.9 million unique visitors (week two) to its Olympics website during the Games.
Yahoo’s Olympics section drove more traffic than NBC’s site, but visitors to NBCOlympics.com …

Senators McCain and Obama spent about the same on Olympics TV advertising — between $5 and $6 million, Adweek reported Monday.
But McCain got much more bang for his advertising bucks, according to an analysis by Nielsen IAG.
Nielsen’s survey of 1,600 likely general election voters who watched the Beijing Games found that McCain’s Olympic ads more effectively communicated a basic message, were recalled by more viewers, and triggered a larger intent-to-vote increase among viewers than ads run by Obama’s campaign. 
On average, the two McCain ads that were surveyed — “Celebrity” and “Washington’s …

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 …