-The most-watched global event ever (2008 Beijing Summer Olympics: 4.7 billion viewers)

-The most-watched Super Bowl ever (Giants-Patriots, Super Bowl XLII: 97.5 million viewers)

-The most-watched cable broadcast of all time (Cowboys-Eagles, Monday Night Football: 18.6 million viewers)

-The most-watched cable golf event of all time (Tiger vs. Rocco, U.S. Open Playoff: 4.8 million viewers)

-The most-watched cable baseball game ever (Red Sox-Rays, ALCS Game 7: 13.4 million viewers)

-The most-watched NBA Finals in five years (Celtics-Lakers, NBA Championship Series average: 14.9 million viewers)

-The most-watched NHL regular season game in nine years; most-watched finals in five years (Winter Classic: 2.5 million viewers; Stanley Cup, Penguins–Red Wings average: 4.5 million viewers)

-The most-watched Wimbledon final in eight years (Federer-Nadal: 5.2 million viewers)

The surge in viewership could be attributed to the dramatic storylines behind these games and events, but Nielsen’s analysis shows that new technology is enhancing the sports fan’s experience:

-Ratings for sports events are 20% higher in homes with high-definition TV sets vs. total U.S.

-75 million people visited sports websites in October 2008

-11.6 million unique users logged more than 1.2 billion minutes on fantasy sports sites in 2008

-10.6 million U.S. mobile subscribers accessed sports content via the mobile Web in August 2008

View the full report.

Read coverage of Nielsen’s findings in USA Today.

Take our poll.

But are U.S. TV viewers enamored of Wimbledon broadcasts?

Since 2001, Wimbledon telecasts have drawn average audiences of 2 to 2.5 million viewers.  Last year’s fortnight of broadcasts drew an average of 2.29 million viewers per telecast — up slightly from 2006, when 2.06 million fans tuned in, on average.

While the 2000 Wimbledon broadcasts claimed the largest U.S. audiences in recent memory (4.07 million viewers per telecast), the early Eighties remain the true glory days of televised lawn tennis in the U.S.  The 1980 and 1981 championships claimed the largest TV audiences to date, with 8.42 million and 7.98 million average viewers, respectively, per telecast.

View Nielsen’s historic Wimbledon broadcast ratings.