It’s one of the few points not up for debate this election season: TV coverage of the typically uneventful U.S. political conventions drew record-breaking audiences. 
Nearly two-thirds of all U.S. households (64.5%) — 120.1 million people age two or older — watched at least one of the 2008 political conventions, according to a new analysis released Thursday by Nielsen. 
Viewership levels for the Democratic and Republican conventions were essentially even, with about half of all U.S. households watching each.  Overall, 15% of all homes tuned in to the Republican National Convention only, while 15.7% …

With food and gasoline costs surging, household budgets worldwide are feeling the pinch.  But how people feel about the economy — and how they are coping financially — varies by country and region, The Economist recently reported.
Consumers in the Asia-Pacific region, for example, are more inclined to save than to splurge if they have spare money, while Russian consumers pump their extra cash into expanding their wardrobe, according to Nielsen.
Meanwhile, people in Nordic countries continue to spend money on travel and vacations, while Brazilians are happy to stay home.
Discretionary income …

YEAR
NETWORKS
TOTAL RATING
TOTAL HOMES

2004
Total- ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, MSNBC, FOXNC
15.3*
16,809,000*

2000
Total- ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, MSNBC, FOXNC
13.9**
14,042,000**

1996
Total– ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, PBS
16.5***
15,756,000***

1992
Total– ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, PBS
20.5
20,000,000

1988
Total– ABC, CBS, NBC
18.3
16,200,000

1984
Total– ABC, CBS, NBC
19.2
16,200,000

1980
Total– ABC, CBS, NBC
21.6
16,500,000

1976
Total– ABC, CBS, NBC
31.5
21,900,000

1972
Total– ABC, CBS, NBC
23.4
14,400,000

1968
Total– ABC, CBS, NBC
26.4
15,000,000

1964
Total– ABC, CBS, NBC
21.8
11,130,000

1960
Total– ABC, CBS, NBC
28
12,596,000

Source: The Nielsen Company (1960 – 2004)

Presidential nominating conventions are held in July and August with the party holding the Presidency scheduling its convention last. Changes in the parties’ primary system have impacted the conventions in recent campaigns.

*2004 data based on the …

YEAR
NETWORKS
TOTAL RATING
TOTAL HOMES

2004
Total- ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, MSNBC, FOXNC
14.3*
15,537,000*

2000
Total- ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, MSNBC, FOXNC
15.3**
15,380,000**

1996
Total– ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, PBS
17.2
16,418,000

1992
Total– ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, PBS
22
20,500,000

1988
Total– ABC, CBS, NBC
19.8
17,400,000

1984
Total– ABC, CBS, NBC
23.4
19,500,000

1980
Total– ABC, CBS, NBC
27
20,700,000

1976
Total– ABC, CBS, NBC
25.2
17,400,000

1972
Total– ABC, CBS, NBC
18.3
11,400,000

1968
Total– ABC, CBS, NBC
28.5
16,200,000

1964
Total– ABC, CBS, NBC
28.8
14,695,000

1960
Total– ABC, CBS, NBC
29.2
13,216,000

Source: The Nielsen Company (1960 – 2004)

Presidential nominating conventions are held in July and August with the party holding the Presidency scheduling its convention last. Changes in the parties’ primary system have impacted the conventions in recent campaigns.

*2004 data based on the …

Google (60.2% search share) and Yahoo! (17.4% search share) were the number one- and number two-ranked online search providers in the U.S. for July, according to Nielsen Online. 
AT&T Worldnet Search showed the largest year-over-year growth (+210%) for that time period. 

Provider
Searches
(in 000’s)
Year-Over-Year
Growth
Share
of Searches

All Search
7,996,956
3%
100.0%

Google Search
4,812,974
16%
60.2%

Yahoo! Search
1,393,723
-11%
17.4%

MSN/Windows Live Search
951,882
-10%
11.9%

AOL Search
369,611
-9%
4.6%

Ask.com Search
162,337
13%
2.0%

Comcast Search
45,511
22%
0.6%

My Web Search
43,085
-38%
0.5%

AT&T Worldnet Search
33,128
210%
0.4%

NexTag Search
21,218
5%
0.3%

Dogpile.com Search
17,270
-33%
0.2%

Source: The Nielsen Company (July 1, 2008 – July 31, 2008)

Search providers are ranked by the total number of search queries conducted at the provider.
Read coverage of Nielsen’s findings on CNET, Silicon Alley Insider, and in Mediaweek. 

Fans worldwide are heading online to take advantage of around-the-clock access to updated Olympics content and video, Nielsen Online reported Tuesday.
During the first week of competition, an average of 930,000 fans per day, from ten countries in Europe, Asia, and the Americas, visited Beijing2008.cn, the official Website of the Beijing Games, according to Nielsen.  On several days during that period, traffic to the site exceeded one million unique visitors.
Within China, traffic to Beijing2008.cn, averaged 1.5 million unique browsers per day during the period, according to ChinaRank, Nielsen’s China-based Internet traffic measurement partner.

Country
Average …

Mobile Internet users in the growing Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC) mobile markets are likely to visit entertainment-themed websites while on the go, according to a report released Tuesday by Nielsen.
Meanwhile users across the U.S. and Europe commonly use their phones to access news and information online, Nielsen found. 
Entertainment, gaming, and music websites rank among the top five categories visited via the mobile Web in all four BRIC countries, while email, weather, news, and search are the top categories for both American and European mobile Internet users. 
In the U.S., entertainment, …

During the first two days of the 2008 Olympics (August 8-9), NBCOlympics.com was the most visited, Olympics-related U.S. website, Nielsen Online reported Monday.
Yahoo’s Olympics site drew slightly larger unique audiences in the two days leading up to the Opening Ceremony in Beijing (August 6-7), but its popularity was eclipsed by NBC’s site after the Olympics Opening Ceremony aired on NBC on Friday, August 8.

Rank
(by Aug. 9 UA)
Website
Unique Audience:
Aug. 6
(in 000’s)
Unique Audience:
Aug. 7
(in 000’s)
Unique Audience:
Aug. 8
(in 000’s)
Unique Audience:
Aug. 9
(in 000’s)

1
NBC Olympics
841
1,392
2,664
4,008

2
Yahoo Olympics
1,505
1,430
1,477
3,324

3
AOL Olympics
511
718
395
1,010

4
Beijing2008.cn
39
114
429
780

5
New York Times Olympics
432
369
341
466

6
ESPN Olympics
196
80
273
343

7
Sports Illustrated Olympics
458
239
293
331

8
USA Today Olympics
34
55
280
184

9
Olympics.org
NA*
10
16
153

10
BBC …

Nearly 45% of U.S. and 31% of UK mobile video users will join the mobile audience for the 2008 Olympic Games, Nielsen Mobile reported Thursday. 
Nielsen’s data shows that U.S. and UK consumers are especially likely to view high-profile, short events, such as Track and Field and Gymnastics, on their mobile phones.  
The mobile Internet will also play a critical role in mobile Olympics viewing, with 23% of U.S. and 17% of UK mobile Internet users planning to track the Games through their phone browsers, according to Nielsen.
“Mobile media will change the …

NBC’s primetime coverage of the 2000 Sydney Summer Olympic Games drew an average audience of 21.5 million viewers over 17 individual telecasts.

DATE
NETWORK
VIEWERS (P2+)

Fri, 9/15/2000
NBC
27,275,000

Sat, 9/16/2000
NBC
21,019,000

Sun, 9/17/2000
NBC
23,883,000

Mon, 9/18/2000
NBC
21,042,000

Tues, 9/19/2000
NBC
24,081,000

Wed, 9/20/2000
NBC
22,315,000

Thurs, 9/21/2000
NBC
22,955,000

Fri, 9/22/2000
NBC
23,153,000

Sat, 9/23/2000
NBC
21,452,000

Sun, 9/24/2000
NBC
25,741,000

Mon, 9/25/2000
NBC
24,420,000

Tues, 9/26/2000
NBC
18,633,000

Wed, 9/27/2000
NBC
20,423,000

Thurs, 9/28/2000
NBC
20,859,000

Fri, 9/29/2000
NBC
15,551,000

Sat, 9/30/2000
NBC
16,296,000

Sun, 10/1/2000
NBC
16,706,000

Source: The Nielsen Company (September 15, 2000 – October 1, 2000)