Primetime Broadcast Ratings, November 10, 2008

Nov 11, 2008 | Posted in Media And Entertainment | Discuss

ABC’s “Dancing With The Stars” was the number one-ranked primetime telecast on broadcast TV for Monday, November 10, 2008.

CBS’s “Two And A Half Men” and “CSI: Miami” rounded out the top three.

Rank Program Network Viewers (P2+)
1 DANCING WITH THE STARS ABC 18,693,000
2 TWO AND A HALF MEN CBS 14,504,000
3 CSI: MIAMI CBS 13,815,000
4 SAMANTHA WHO? ABC 10,396,000
5 BIG BANG THEORY, THE CBS 10,010,000
6 HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER CBS 9,793,000
7 WORST WEEK CBS 9,460,000
8 BOSTON LEGAL ABC 8,705,000
9 HEROES NBC 7,849,000
10 CHUCK NBC 6,338,000
Source: The Nielsen Company (November 10, 2008).

Overall, ABC won the night with an average audience of almost 14.1 million viewers, while CBS took second place with almost 11.9 million average viewers. NBC and FOX claimed third and fourth places with roughly 6.2 million and 5.3 million average viewers, respectively. Univision and the CW followed in fifth and sixth places with average audiences of roughly 4.7 million and 2.9 million average viewers, respectively.

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More Than 71 Million Tuned In For Election Night Coverage

TV coverage of the 2008 U.S. election results drew more than 71 million average viewers Tuesday night, according to Nielsen.

Live news coverage was carried on both broadcast and cable networks, including Spanish-language networks: ABC, CBS, FOX Broadcast, NBC, Telemundo, Univision, BBC America, BET, CNBC, CNN, FOX News Channel, MSNBC, and TV One.

Nielsen’s audience estimates include primetime coverage, from 8pm to 11pm, in the Eastern and Central Time Zones and live in Mountain and Pacific Time Zones.

Audience estimates for the 8pm to 12:30am time frame, which featured Sen. McCain’s concession speech and President-Elect Obama’s speech in Chicago, are also included below.

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Primetime Broadcast Ratings, November 3, 2008

Nov 4, 2008 | Posted in Nielsen News | Discuss

ABC’s “Dancing With the Stars” claimed the top slot in Nielsen’s ranking of the top primetime telecasts on broadcast TV for November 3, 2008.  The show drew just over 17 million average viewers Monday night.

NBC’s “SNL Presidential Bash 2008″ and CBS’s “Two and a Half Men” rounded out the top three, with 14.4 million and 12.7 million average viewers, respectively.

Rank Program Network Viewers (P2+)
1 DANCING WITH THE STARS ABC 17,089,000
2 SNL PRESIDENTIAL BASH ‘08(S)-11/03/2008 NBC 14,436,000
3 TWO AND A HALF MEN CBS 12,761,000
4 CSI: MIAMI CBS 12,740,000
5 BIG BANG THEORY, THE CBS 9,668,000
6 HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER CBS 9,397,000
7 SAMANTHA WHO? ABC 8,719,000
8 WORST WEEK CBS 8,277,000
9 DEAL OR NO DEAL-MON NBC 7,175,000
10 BOSTON LEGAL ABC 6,718,000
Source: The Nielsen Company (November 3, 2008).

Overall, ABC won the night with an average audience of just over 12.3 million viewers, while NBC took second place with just over 12 million average viewers. CBS and FOX claimed third and fourth places with roughly 10.9 million and 5.2 million average viewers, respectively. The CW and Univision followed in fifth and sixth places with average audiences of roughly 4.6 million and 3 million average viewers, respectively.

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Top 10 Cable TV Rankings: Oct. 27 - Nov. 2, 2008

Nov 4, 2008 | Posted in Media And Entertainment | Discuss
RANK PROGRAM NETWORK DAYS VIEWERS (P2+)
1 NFL REGULAR SEASON - L (COLTS/TITANS) ESPN MONDAY 11,604,000
2 HANNAH MONTANA DSNY SUNDAY 5,530,000
3 THE OREILLY FACTOR FOXNC THURSDAY 4,706,000
4 THE OREILLY FACTOR FOXNC TUESDAY 4,419,000
5 SPONGEBOB NICK SATURDAY 4,408,000
6 THE OREILLY FACTOR FOXNC WEDNESDAY 4,388,000
7 SPONGEBOB NICK SATURDAY 4,286,000
8 WWE ENTERTAINMENT (WWE RAW) USA MONDAY 4,267,000
9 SPONGEBOB NICK SATURDAY 4,242,000
10 COUNTDOWN W/ K. OLBERMANN MSNBC WEDNESDAY 4,230,000
Source: The Nielsen Company (October 27, 2008 - November 2, 2008).
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In Philly and Tampa, Viewers Chose Baseball Over Obama

The conclusion of the Phillies v. Rays World Series drew half of all Philadelphia households (51.8%) and almost one-third (32.4%) of all Tampa Bay households.

The game aired on FOX Wednesday night, between 8:30pm and 10:15pm EDT.  

In comparison, just 29% of Philly households and 23.4% of Tampa Bay households watched Barack Obama’s infomercial in the half hour leading up to what proved to be the Phillies-Rays’ final game.

The half-hour political simulcast — the first of its kind, since Ross Perot ran a political telecast on the eve of Election Day in 1996 — aired on CBS, NBC, FOX, UNIVISION, MSNBC, and NY1 between 8pm and 8:30pm EST.

In the top 56 local television markets where Nielsen maintains electronic TV meters, 21.7% of all households watched Obama’s telecast.

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SPORTS WRAP: A Tale Of Two (Pennsylvania) Cities

Oct 29, 2008 | Posted in Media And Entertainment, Sports | Discuss

Each week, Nielsen Sports analysts offer their take on the biggest sports media headlines.

This past weekend, Senators John McCain and Barack Obama faced some tough competition in Pennsylvania. 

With the Phillies playing in the World Series and college and pro football games on both Saturday and Sunday, there was no shortage of TV sports options for politics-weary Pennsylvanians, looking for a break from presidential campaigning.

The action started on Saturday in western Pennsylvania, as the Penn State Nittany Lions took on their Big 10 Rival, the Ohio State Buckeyes.  In nearby Pittsburgh, 20.8% of local TV households watched on ABC as Penn State maintained its undefeated status.

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Has The Tough Economy Changed Americans’ TV Habits?

Oct 28, 2008 | Posted in Media And Entertainment, Nielsen News | Discuss

The ongoing financial crisis has had far-reaching effects in the U.S., where it has taken a toll on everything from Americans’ shopping habits to their retirement savings.

Could the dire economic conditions also be changing the way Americans watch TV?

Yes and no, according to a Nielsen report released Friday, which found that Americans are watching more cable news this year than they did last year. Between September 15, 2008 and October 19, 2008, tuning to cable news networks almost doubled, versus the same period last year, according to Nielsen.

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SPORTS WRAP: Phillies, Rays Local Fans Flock To TVs For World Series Coverage

Each week, Nielsen Sports’ analysts offer their take on the biggest sports media headlines.

Many in the media were hoping for a Boston Red Sox vs. Los Angeles Dodgers World Series match-up, but the fans in Tampa and Philadelphia certainly aren’t complaining. 

In Philadelphia, the fourth largest U.S. TV market, 35.7% of all local households tuned in for the first game of the Series Wednesday night.  Viewership in the city of brotherly love has grown steadily throughout the playoffs.

That upwardly mobile TV ratings trend was also evident in the Tampa Bay market, where local TV audiences have grown steadily with each successive playoff victory.  Wednesday night, 31.9% of local households in Tampa/St. Petersburg, the nation’s 13th largest market, tuned in for game one of the Series. 

That wasn’t enough to top Phillies fans’ viewership, but it did give the Rays their highest local rating this season. 

Stay tuned on NielsenWire for daily updates on World Series national TV ratings.

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

Oct 22, 2008 | Posted in Media And Entertainment, Sports | 3 Comments

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.

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Red Sox V. Rays Game 7 Draws Record-Breaking TV Ratings

Oct 21, 2008 | Posted in Media And Entertainment, Nielsen News, Sports | Discuss

Game seven of the closely contested American League Championship Series between the Boston Red Sox and the Tampa Bay Rays drew the largest ever TV audience of any MLB playoff game aired on cable, Nielsen reported Tuesday.  

The game, which aired on TBS Sunday night, drew almost 13.4 million average viewers, easily surpassing game four of last year’s Indians v. Yankees division series, which claimed second place overall with 9.2 million average viewers.

TV viewership of the ALCS games surged after the Red Sox overcame a seven-run deficit in game five to beat the Rays and stay in the series. 

Last Thursday, game five drew 7.2 million average viewers.  Game six of the series pulled in 8.9 million viewers, securing third place in Nielsen’s ranking of the all-time top MLB playoff game broadcasts on cable TV.

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