While national TV advertising as a whole grew at a slower rate last year than in the past, Spanish-language TV advertising posted a 3 percent gain in 2008, with growth in every major product category other than those related to the automotive sector. Satellite communication services showed the most growth – up 124 percent in 2008 — followed by car insurance and pharmaceuticals.  Overall, the top 10 categories recorded growth of 8 percent over the prior year, reaching $2.9 billion in 2008.

The dollar shift accompanies a rise in audience size …

CBS’s back-to-back “Ghost Whisperer” special presentations were the number one and number-three ranked primetime telecasts on broadcast TV for Friday, December 26, 2008.
CBS’s “Numb3rs” special was sandwiched in between, in second place.

RANK
NAME
NETWORK
VIEWERS (P2+)

1
GHOST WHISPERER-SPECIAL(S)-12/26/2008
CBS
7,795,000

2
NUMB3RS-SPECIAL(S)-12/26/2008
CBS
6,690,000

3
GHOST WHISPERER 9PM-SP(S)-12/26/2008
CBS
6,509,000

4
SMARTER THAN 5TH SP-12/26(S)-12/26/2008
FOX
5,678,000

5
20/20-FRI
ABC
5,672,000

6
DONT FORGET LYR SP-12/26(S)-12/26/2008
FOX
5,378,000

7
DATELINE 12/26(S)-12/26/2008
NBC
5,234,000

8
FUEGO EN LA SANGRE FRI
UNI
4,773,000

9
CUIDADO CON EL ANGEL FRI
UNI
4,294,000

10
SUPERNANNY SP-12/26(S)-12/26/2008
ABC
3,780,000

Source: The Nielsen Company (December 26, 2008).

Overall, CBS won the night with an average audience of almost 8.3 million viewers, while ABC took second place with almost 5.8 million average viewers. FOX and NBC claimed third and fourth places …

CBS’s “CSI” and “Criminal Minds” special presentations were the number one and number-two ranked primetime telecasts on broadcast TV for Wednesday, December 24, 2008.
NBC’s “Movie of the Week” rounded out the top three.

RANK
NAME
NETWORK
VIEWERS (P2+)

1
CSI: NY – SPCL(S)-12/24/2008
CBS
6,918,000

2
CRIMINAL MINDS – SPCL(S)-12/24/2008
CBS
6,461,000

3
NBC MOVIE OF WEEK-WE12/24(S)-12/24/2008
NBC
5,292,000

4
WONDERFUL WORLD DISNEY SP(S)-12/24/2008
ABC
4,567,000

5
BONES SP-XMAS EVE 8P(S)-12/24/2008
FOX
4,354,000

6
BONES SP-XMAS EVE 9P(S)-12/24/2008
FOX
3,823,000

7
GARY UNMARRIED – SPCL(S)-12/24/2008
CBS
3,514,000

8
OLD CHRISTINE – SPCL(S)-12/24/2008
CBS
3,477,000

9
FLIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS(S)-12/24/2008
CW
1,844,000

10
DON FRANCISCO PRSTA 12/24(S)-12/24/2008
UNI
1,816,000

Source: The Nielsen Company (December 24, 2008).

Overall, CBS won the night with an average audience of just over 5.6 million viewers, while NBC took second place with almost …

CBS’s “The Mentalist” and “NCIS” special presentations were the number one and number-two ranked primetime telecasts on broadcast TV for Tuesday, December 23, 2008.
NBC’s “Law And Order: SVU” rounded out the top three.

RANK
NAME
NETWORK
VIEWERS (P2+)

1
MENTALIST, THE-10PM SPCL(S)-12/23/2008
CBS
10,676,000

2
NCIS 9P-SPECIAL(S)-12/23/2008
CBS
10,598,000

3
LAW AND ORDER:SVU
NBC
7,052,000

4
HOUSE
FOX
6,739,000

5
HOW GRINCH STOLE XMAS-TUE(S)-12/23/2008
ABC
6,524,000

6
HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS(S)-12/23/2008
CBS
6,428,000

7
LAW AND ORDER 12/23(S)-12/23/2008
NBC
6,175,000

8
LAW AND ORDER:SVU 12/23(S)-12/23/2008
NBC
6,034,000

9
FUEGO EN LA SANGRE TUE
UNI
4,840,000

10
CUIDADO CON EL ANGEL TUE
UNI
4,696,000

Source: The Nielsen Company (December 23, 2008).

Overall, CBS won the night with an average audience of just over 9.2 million viewers, while NBC took second place with almost 6.4 million average viewers. …

RANK
NAME
NETWORK
DAY
VIEWERS (P2+)

1
FUEGO EN LA SANGRE MON-12/15/2008
UNI
Monday
5,060,000

2
CUIDADO CON EL ANGEL MON-12/15/2008
UNI
Monday
4,871,000

3
FUEGO EN LA SANGRE TUE-12/16/2008
UNI
Tuesday
4,852,000

4
FUEGO EN LA SANGRE WED-12/17/2008
UNI
Wednesday
4,725,000

5
CUIDADO CON EL ANGEL TUE-12/16/2008
UNI
Tuesday
4,723,000

6
CUIDADO CON EL ANGEL WED-12/17/2008
UNI
Wednesday
4,692,000

7
FUEGO EN LA SANGRE FRI-12/19/2008
UNI
Friday
4,586,000

8
CUIDADO CON EL ANGEL THU-12/18/2008
UNI
Thursday
4,543,000

9
FUEGO EN LA SANGRE THU-12/18/2008
UNI
Thursday
4,489,000

10
CUIDADO CON EL ANGEL FRI-12/19/2008
UNI
Friday
4,325,000

Source: The Nielsen Company (December 15, 2008 – December 21, 2008)

CBS’s “Two and a Half Men,” “CSI: Miami,” and “The Big Bang Theory” were the top three primetime telecasts on broadcast TV for Monday, December 22, 2008.
CBS’s “Worst Week” and “How I Met Your Mother” rounded out the top five.

RANK
NAME
NETWORK
VIEWERS (P2+)

1
TWO AND A HALF MEN
 
11,817,000

2
CSI: MIAMI
CBS
8,541,000

3
BIG BANG THEORY, THE
CBS
7,244,000

4
WORST WEEK
CBS
6,859,000

5
HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER
CBS
6,840,000

6
SHREK THE HALLS-12/22(S)-12/22/2008
CBS
6,510,000

7
HOUSE SP-12/22 8P(S)-12/22/2008
ABC
6,248,000

8
TODAY LOOKS BACK:2008(S)-12/22/2008
FOX
6,123,000

9
ABC MON MOVIE OF WK-12/22(S)-12/22/2008
NBC
5,696,000

10
FUEGO EN LA SANGRE MON
ABC
5,335,000

Source: The Nielsen Company (December 22, 2008).

Overall, CBS won the night with an average audience of just over 8.3 million viewers, while ABC …

CBS’s “NCIS,” “The Mentalist,” and “Without A Trace” were the top three-ranked primetime telecasts on broadcast TV for Tuesday, December 16, 2008.
NBC’s “Biggest Loser” and ABC’s “Charlie Brown Christmas” special rounded out the top five.

Rank
Program
Network
Viewers (P2+)

1
NCIS
CBS
19,937,000

2
MENTALIST, THE
CBS
19,314,000

3
WITHOUT A TRACE
CBS
14,475,000

4
BIGGEST LOSER 6
NBC
11,832,000

5
CHARLIE BRWN CHRISTMAS(S)-12/16/2008
ABC
8,366,000

6
HOUSE
FOX
6,436,000

7
MOMMA’S BOYS 12/16(S)-12/16/2008
NBC
6,014,000

8
ACCORDING TO JIM-TU 9PM
ABC
5,222,000

9
ELI STONE
ABC
5,151,000

10
FUEGO EN LA SANGRE TUE
UNI
5,060,000

Source: The Nielsen Company (December 16, 2008).

Overall, CBS won the night with an average audience of just over 17.9 million viewers, while NBC took second place with almost 9.9 million average viewers.  ABC and FOX claimed third and …

CBS’s special presentations of “Frosty the Snowman” and “Frosty Returns” were the top two primetime telecasts on broadcast TV for Friday, December 12, 2008.
“Numb3rs” and “Flight Before Christmas,” which also aired on CBS, rounded out the top four.

Rank
Program
Network
Viewers (P2+)

1
FROSTY THE SNOWMAN(S)-12/12/2008
CBS
7,678,000

2
FROSTY RETURNS(S)-12/12/2008
CBS
7,620,000

3
NUMB3RS
CBS
7,603,000

4
FLIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS(S)-12/12/2008
CBS
7,390,000

5
DATELINE FRI
NBC
7,087,000

6
SMARTER THAN 5TH GRADER
FOX
6,293,000

7
20/20-FRI
ABC
5,799,000

8
DON’T FORGET THE LYRICS
FOX
5,327,000

9
GREAT HOLIDAY MOMENT12/12(S)-12/12/2008
NBC
5,116,000

10
FUEGO EN LA SANGRE FRI
UNI
4,135,000

Source: The Nielsen Company (December 12, 2008).

Overall, CBS won the night with an average audience of just over 7.5 million viewers, while FOX took second place with just over 5.8 million average viewers.  NBC …

Rank
Program
Network
Viewers (P2+)

1
MENTALIST, THE
CBS
18,742,000

2
NCIS
CBS
18,518,000

3
CSI
CBS
17,476,000

4
OT, THE
FOX
16,220,000

5
DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES
ABC
16,088,000

6
GREY’S ANATOMY-THU 9PM
ABC
15,279,000

7
60 MINUTES
CBS
13,794,000

8
TWO AND A HALF MEN
CBS
13,630,000

9
NBC SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL
NBC
13,286,000

10
BARBARA WALTERS PRESENTS (S)
ABC
13,191,000

Source: The Nielsen Company (December 1, 2008 – December 7, 2008).

CBS’s “CSI” was the number one-ranked primetime telecast on broadcast TV for Thursday, December 4, 2008, drawing almost 17.5 million average viewers.
ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Barbara Walters Presents” rounded out the top three, with just over 15.3 million and 13.2 million average viewers, respectively.

Rank
Program
Network
Viewers (P2+)

1
CSI
CBS
17,476,000

2
GREY’S ANATOMY-THU 9PM
ABC
15,279,000

3
BARBARA WALTERS PRESENTS(S)-12/04/2008
ABC
13,191,000

4
SURVIVOR: GABON
CBS
12,727,000

5
ELEVENTH HOUR
CBS
10,864,000

6
OFFICE
NBC
8,456,000

7
UGLY BETTY
ABC
8,370,000

8
E.R.
NBC
8,202,000

9
30 ROCK
NBC
7,182,000

10
MY NAME IS EARL
NBC
6,132,000

Source: The Nielsen Company (December 4, 2008).

Overall, CBS won the night with an average audience of just over 13.7 million viewers, while ABC took second place with almost 12.3 million average viewers. NBC and Univision …