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 25 to 54), while 33% of those women defined as “hockey moms” tuned in.  Overall, “hockey moms” were 38.7% more likely than average moms to have watched the V.P. debate.

In comparison, the first debate between Senators McCain and Obama, on Sept. 26, drew 16.5% of all mothers (25 to 54).  Among those classified as “hockey moms,” however, 21.3% tuned in to the debate, making “hockey moms” 29.1% more likely than average moms to have watched the McCain and Obama’s debate.

Read coverage of Nielsen’s findings in the Boston Herald and Broadcasting & Cable.

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 corresponds with a “very negative” response, and 50 is neutral. Nielsen calculated the average of the 44 respondents’ responses. The panel, and its results, are not part of CBS’s election polling, and the panel is not large enough to be statistically significant according to Nielsen’s standards.

The panel’s overall most positive response came during Biden’s discussion of ending the war in Iraq, at roughly 42 minutes into the debate.  The least positive responses of the night came just moments later, during Sarah Palin’s comments on Iraq.

Palin’s high point came early in the debate (5:00), when she discussed the economic bail-out bill approved by the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives last week.  Her call for better cooperation between Democrats and Republicans (88:52) also triggered some of her most positive responses.

Biden’s lowest response came during his discussion of same-sex benefits at approximately 36 minutes into the debate.

Respondents of all ages showed largely similar responses to the candidates’ comments.  However, panelists aged 55-99 occasionally deviated from the norm, registering more positive responses than panelists between the ages of 18-34 and 35-54 when Biden discussed the policies he would enforce if called upon to fill in as president (approximately 68:12), Dick Cheney’s role as vice president (approximately 77:00), and nuclear weapons control (approximately 59:00).

Panelists aged 18-34 responded more positively than older panelists when Palin offered her take on same-sex marriage benefits (approximately 37:12) and discussed Iraq exit strategies (39:16).

The 22 men and 22 women on the panel had largely similar responses to the debate.

Panelist responses were measured at CBS’s TV City research facility in Las Vegas, using Nielsen technology.

View complete data from CBS and Nielsen’s first debate response panel.

Read coverage of Nielsen’s findings in The Boston Globe and Media General.

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. 

Both debates drew audiences made up mostly of white viewers with higher levels of income ($100,000+) and education (4+ years of college).

Older viewers (age 55+) made up the largest portion of the TV audiences for both debates (42% – 46%).  However, the Biden-Palin V.P. debate (median age: 52) drew a slightly larger portion of younger viewers than the first Obama-McCain debate (median age: 54).

Homes headed by African Americans made up a larger portion of the presidential debate audience (14.0%) than the V.P. debate audience (12.3%).  African American homes normally account for 12.2% of all U.S. TV households.

Overall, Hispanic viewers were less likely to watch the debates.  Hispanic households, which account for 11.1%  of all TV households in the U.S., made up just 6.3% to 6.5% of the combined audience for the two debates. 

A closer look at the minute-by-minute ratings for both debates reveals few peaks or drop-offs in household viewing, which remained steady throughout both the telecasts.

Read the full report — and stay tuned during the presidential debates for more Nielsen TV audience analyses.

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.

View ratings for Nielsen’s 55 top local metered markets.

Coverage of the debate between Sarah Palin and Joe Biden aired on NBC, ABC, CBS, FOX, PBS, CNN, Fox News, CSPAN, MSNBC, CNBC, Telemundo, and Telefutura.

National ratings for Thursday night’s debate will be available from Nielsen Friday afternoon.

Read coverage of Nielsen’s findings by the Associated Press and in The Wall Street Journal.