RANK
NAME
NETWORK
DAYS
VIEWERS (P2+)

1
NFL REGULAR SEASON L (RAVENS/STEELERS)
ESPN
MONDAY
11,783,000

2
VP DEBATE(S)-10/02/2008
FOXNC
THURSDAY
11,098,000

3
SR/VICE PRES DEBATE 2008(S)-10/02/2008
CNN
THURSDAY
10,685,000

4
ON THE RECORD W/GRETA
FOXNC
THURSDAY
9,801,000

5
ANDERSON COOPER 360
CNN
THURSDAY
7,961,000

6
VP DEBATE CVG(S)-10/02/2008
FOXNC
THURSDAY
7,372,000

7
VP DEBATE ANALYSIS(S)-10/02/2008
FOXNC
THURSDAY
6,977,000

8
MLB DIVISION SERIES (ANGELS-RED SOX 3)
TBSC
SUNDAY
6,199,000

9
THE OREILLY FACTOR
FOXNC
THURSDAY
5,624,000

10
MLB DIVISION SERIES (DODGERS-CUBS 1)
TBSC
WEDNESDAY
5,381,000

Source: The Nielsen Company (September 29, 2008 – October 5, 2008).

“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 …

During the vice presidential debate between Sen. Joe Biden and Gov. Sarah Palin last week, CBS and Nielsen tracked real-time reactions to the candidates from a panel of uncommitted, registered voters who allowed CBS and Nielsen to capture their real-time reactions to the V.P. debate. However, CBS notes that in many cases, the panelists were “leaning” towards the Obama-Biden ticket.
Watch CBS’s analysis.

As they watched the debate, panel members turned a dial between 0 and 100 to indicate their reactions to the candidates’ discussion. 100 indicates a “very positive” response, 0 …

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. 

The combined overall household rating for Thursday night’s vice presidential debate, in 55 of the 56 local television markets where Nielsen maintains electronic TV meters, was 45.0.
One rating point equals 1% of the total TV audience in a given market.
The Baltimore market had the largest TV audience, with a household rating of 59.1, while the Los Angeles market had the lowest household rating: 34.4.