RANK
PROGRAM
NETWORK
DAYS
VIEWERS (P2+)

1
MLB ALCS (RED SOX-RAYS 7)
TBSC
SUNDAY
13,357,000

2
NFL REGULAR SEASON L (GIANTS/BROWNS)
ESPN
MONDAY
11,422,000

3
PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE(S)-10/15/2008
FOXNC
WEDNESDAY
9,068,000

4
SR/PRES DEBATE 3 2008(S)-10/15/2008
CNN
WEDNESDAY
8,931,000

5
MLB ALCS (RED SOX-RAYS 6)
TBSC
SATURDAY
8,928,000

6
ANDERSON COOPER 360
CNN
WEDNESDAY
7,795,000

7
SPONGEBOB
NICK
MONDAY
7,666,000

8
ON THE RECORD W/GRETA
FOXNC
WEDNESDAY
7,394,000

9
MLB ALCS (RAYS-RED SOX 5)
TBSC
THURSDAY
7,211,000

10
SPONGEBOB
NICK
MONDAY
5,778,000

Source: The Nielsen Company (October 13, 2008 – October 19, 2008).

Online buzz surrounding Senators Barack Obama and John McCain remained strong during the three presidential debates in September and October, but voters’ engagement in the debate TV broadcasts declined significantly after the first debate, according to an analysis released Tuesday by Nielsen IAG and Nielsen Online.
“Engagement” refers to the amount of attention paid to a television program by the average viewer.  Nielsen measures TV engagement by questioning a representative panel of viewers about their recall of specific telecasts’ content.
Online consumer discussion of both candidates spiked before and after each of the four …

The final presidential debate between Senators John McCain and Barack Obama drew 56.5 million U.S. viewers Wednesday night, Nielsen reported Thursday.
The TV audience for the senators’ third meeting edged past that of their first debate at the end of September, which drew 52.4 million viewers, but was easily surpassed by the audience of 63.2 million that tuned in for the second presidential debate last week.
During the previous presidential campaign, 51.2 million viewers tuned in for President Bush and John Kerry’s third debate on Oct. 13, 2004.  (View complete historical debate ratings.)
As …

The combined overall household rating for Wednesday night’s final presidential debate, in the top 56 local television markets where Nielsen maintains electronic TV meters, was 38.3. 
In comparison, last week’s debate between Senators McCain and Obama — the candidates’ second – received a 42.0 household rating in the top 55 local TV markets.  The candidates’ first debate on September 26 received a 34.7 household rating in the top 55 markets.
Wednesday night’s championship baseball game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Philadelphia Phillies — aired by FOX, instead of the debate – may have impacted the …

RANK
PROGRAM
NETWORK
DAYS
VIEWERS (P2+)

1
NFL REGULAR SEASON – L (VIKINGS/SAINTS)
ESPN
MONDAY
10,975,000

2
SR/PRES DEBATE 2 2008(S)-10/07/2008
CNN
TUESDAY
9,228,000

3
PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE(S)-10/07/2008
FOXNC
TUESDAY
8,773,000

4
ON THE RECORD W/GRETA
FOXNC
TUESDAY
7,645,000

5
ANDERSON COOPER 360
CNN
TUESDAY
7,633,000

6
MLB ALCS (RED SOX-RAYS 1)
TBSC
FRIDAY
6,689,000

7
MLB ALCS (RED SOX-RAYS 2)
TBSC
SATURDAY
6,089,000

8
PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE CVG(S)-10/07/2008
FOXNC
TUESDAY
5,773,000

9
MLB DIVISION SERIES (ANGELS-RED SOX 4)
TBSC
MONDAY
5,720,000

10
PRES DEBATE/ANALYSIS(S)-10/07/2008
FOXNC
TUESDAY
5,432,000

Source: The Nielsen Company (October 6, 2008 – October 12, 2008).

On Tuesday night, 63.2 million U.S. viewers watched the second presidential debate between Senators John McCain and Barack Obama.
The TV audience for the senators’ second meeting easily surpassed that of their first debate, which drew an audience of 52.4 million on Friday, Sept. 26.
During the previous presidential campaign, 46.7 million viewers tuned in for President Bush and John Kerry’s second debate on Oct. 8, 2004. 
See more historical debate ratings.

The combined overall household rating for Tuesday night’s second presidential debate, in 55 of the 56 local television markets where Nielsen maintains electronic TV meters, was 42.1.
In comparison, the first debate between Senators McCain and Obama received a much lower household rating (34.7) in the top 55 local TV markets.  Last week’s V.P. debate received a 45.0 household rating in the top 55 markets.
One rating point equals 1% of the total TV audience in a given market.
The Nashville market, where the debate was held, had the largest TV audience, with a household rating of 59.2, while the Sacramento/Stockton/Modesto, California market had …

“Hockey moms” — famously invoked by Gov. Sarah Palin in her V.P. campaign speeches — may also have a passion for politics.
According to a Nielsen analysis released Tuesday, “hockey moms” — defined as women ages 25 to 54 who live in homes with children and who watched at least six minutes of the most recent Stanley Cup Finals on NBC – were more likely than average moms to watch the first two debates of the 2008 election.
Last Thursday, Sen. Joe Biden and Gov. Sarah Palin’s V.P. debate drew 23.8% of all mothers (ages …

Sixty-one percent of all U.S. households watched at least one of the two 2008 election debates aired so far, according to a new analysis released Monday by Nielsen.
On average, 41% of all homes watched the V.P. debate last Thursday — up one-third from the first presidential debate the previous Friday night, which reached an average of 31% of all households.
Of all households, 39% watched neither debate, while 30.3% tuned in to both.  11.2% of all homes tuned in to the presidential debate only, and 19.5% tuned in to just the V.P. debate. 

With the U.S. financial crisis hanging in the balance, the first debate between Barack Obama and John McCain – originally scheduled for Friday — has taken on unusual importance.  But, how will this first presidential duel of the 2008 election compare with the most-watched debates of the last half-century?
Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan’s October 28, 1980 debate claimed the largest television audience — 80.6 million viewers — since 1976, the first year that Nielsen collected TV viewership data for presidential debates. 
George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and Ross Perot’s October 15, 1992 debate (69.9 …