This year’s college football BCS Championship Game features two undefeated national powerhouses: the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Texas Longhorns. The overwhelming talent and prominence of each program is undeniable. But will they carry enough ”juice” to draw in TV viewers?

Reality TV shows and sporting events were among the most-viewed shows of 2009, while several science fiction shows saw boosts from the use of “time-shifted” viewing.

A World Series matchup featuring two of the East Coast’s largest media markets led to some of the highest viewership baseball has seen in five years.

The New York Yankees boasted the most viewers per game during the regular season, while the Philadelphia Phillies’ seasonal viewership was up 25% over 2008.

Nielsen today released “C3″ ratings data for television viewing in the first week of the 2009-2010 TV season.

Case Study: Nielsen’s People Meter Technology Brings Miami More Accurate Picture of TV Viewers

Nielsen is in the process of installing electronic meters – called Local People Meters (LPM) – in the largest TV markets.  The roll-out of LPMs in Miami in Oct 2008 provides a good case study on how technology can make local TV ratings more accurate and representative of the local population than ever before.
Nielsen’s electronic People Meters measure what people really watch and do not rely on the memories of people filling out the paper diaries, …

Last night’s primetime press conference to mark Barack Obama’s 100th day in office was viewed by 28.8 million people in the U.S., according to The Nielsen Company. The event pulled an 18.8 household rating on 10 TV networks.
Viewership for the presser was 29% less than the President’s last press conference on March 24, which was seen on 11 networks. President Obama’s first primetime press conference was watched by 49.5 million U.S. viewers on eight networks.
PRESIDENT OBAMA’S PRIMETIME PRESS CONFERENCE RATINGS

DATE
# OF NETWORKS
HH RATING
HH SHARE
# OF VIEWERS P2+ (in millions)

4/29/2009
10
18.8
27
28.8

3/24/2009
11
25.9
45
40.4

2/9/2009
8
30.8
47
49.5

source: The Nielsen Company, 2009

Networks airing …

With the Final Four set to tip off in Detroit, MI this weekend, The Nielsen Company has assembled the following facts and figures looking at media and viewer data from the NCAA Tournament so far:

The average household rating for the tournament to date is 5.3%. The number is up a tick from the 5.2% through the same time last year.
An average of 9.6 million viewers tuned in to the Sweet 16 and Elite 8 games this year – the most average viewership for those games since 2006.
The most-watched session of …

Matt Foran, Nielsen Sports
With Major League Baseball’s opening day fast approaching, big league teams are looking to surpass last-season’s finish and to collect more eyeballs for their advertisers and corporate sponsors.  A look back at the stats from locally and nationally televised games from the 2008 season reveals impressive numbers and teams will hope to carry that momentum throughout the 2009 season… and perhaps the playoffs.
Regional Ratings:
Locally, Boston continued to show the power of Red Sox Nation, with a 10.1 HH AA% on NESN (New England Sports Network), the highest average …

On Tuesday, February 24, 2009 President Barack Obama delivered his first address to a Joint Session of Congress, the traditional first-term equivalent of the State of the Union.  The address was carried live on 10 national television networks – ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, Telemundo, Univision, CNBC, CNN, FOX News Channel and MSNBC.  The figures below are the sum of the preliminary average audience estimates for the sources noted and for the approximate common time.  Exact times varied by network.
President Obama’s Address to Joint Session of Congress –
Tuesday, February 24, 2009 …