Nielsen Ratings

Jan 18, 2012 3:15 PM CST

Idol Cruises Into 11th Season

And its long run could continue for quite a while: USA Today

(Newser) - American Idol has dominated the Nielsen ratings for 10 seasons, and its 11th season starts up tonight. Bill Keveney of USA Today rounds up some reasons why this pop culture institution might just go on forever:

Oprah Finale Draws Biggest Audience Since 1994

May 26, 2011 1:33 PM CDT

Oprah Finale Draws Biggest Audience Since 1994

And it's not the only TV finale drawing eyeballs this week

(Newser) - It's starting to look like Americans haven't moved from the couch all week. Early numbers show yesterday's finale of The Oprah Winfrey Show drew the most viewers it has had in 17 years. The final episode—which featured no guests , but rather a personal conversation between Oprah,...

Grammy Ratings Hit
Decade-Long High

Feb 14, 2011 7:10 PM CST

Grammy Ratings Hit Decade-Long High

26.6 million tuned in for awards show

(Newser) - The Grammys hit a high note in the ratings last night, drawing the show's biggest TV audience in a decade. Preliminary Nielsen figures today show the CBS broadcast attracted 26.6 million viewers, improving on last year's robust audience by 680,000 viewers. The 53rd Annual Grammy Awards was also...

A Record 111M
Tuned in Last Night

SUPER BOWL XLV

Feb 7, 2011 4:57 PM CST

A Record 111M Tuned in Last Night

111 million tuned in for big game: Nielsen

(Newser) - For the second year in a row, the Super Bowl has set a new record for American television viewing. The Nielsen Co. said today that an estimated 111 million people watched the Green Bay Packers outlast the Pittsburgh Steelers in football's ultimate game. That tops the 106.5 million who...

Average American Watches
34 Hours of TV a Week

Jan 3, 2011 10:57 AM CST

Average American Watches 34 Hours of TV a Week

That almost sounds like a full-time job...

(Newser) - The average American watches 34 hours of television per week … which sounds suspiciously like a full-time job. That slightly depressing, slightly baffling statistic comes to you courtesy of the Nielsen Company, which reports that total viewing rose about 1% in 2010. More from Nielsen, via the New York Times...

10M of You
Watched
LeBron's
'Decision'

Jul 11, 2010 11:59 AM CDT

10M of You Watched LeBron's 'Decision'

Congratulations on time well-spent

(Newser) - The Nielsen Co. estimates that 9.95 million people watched LeBron James announce on ESPN that he's leaving Cleveland to play for the Miami Heat, making it the third-most-watched program on cable television this year. The Decision that aired Thursday night ranks behind the 12.3 million who watched the...

DWTS Beats Idol Ratings

thanks, kate

Apr 7, 2010 8:10 AM CDT

DWTS Beats Idol Ratings

For the first time, 'Dancing With the Stars' leads

(Newser) - Dancing With the Stars beat American Idol—both nights of it—in the ratings for the first time last week. According to Nielsen, nearly 23 million people tuned in to DWTS on Tuesday, compared to Idol’s 21.8 million Tuesday and 20.5 million Wednesday. One possible reason? “...

Super Bowl TV Rating
Breaks All-Time Record

Feb 8, 2010 3:05 PM CST

Super Bowl TV Rating Breaks All-Time Record

Audience of 106.5M tops 1983 MAS*H finale viewership

(Newser) - This year's Super Bowl was the most-watched TV program of all time, with 106.5 million viewers. More than two-thirds of American TVs in use were tuned in to the Saints' 31-17 upset of the Colts, a figure that soared to 82% in New Orleans and 80% in Indianapolis, reports...

As the End
Nears, O'Brien's
Ratings Soar

Jan 17, 2010 6:03 AM CST

As the End Nears, O'Brien's Ratings Soar

Nation of jobless tunes in to watch him jab at NBC execs

(Newser) - Conan O'Brien is about to be out of a job, and his bitter cracks on NBC execs are doing what his show did not—viewership has soared. O'Brien's ratings have been rising through the week, and Tonight ratings Friday were 50% higher than they've been this season. O'Brien beat out...

Radio's Top Songs By Genre

BEST OF THE DECADE

Dec 23, 2009 8:16 PM CST

Radio's Top Songs By Genre

Tim McGraw's Something Like That played 487K times

(Newser) - Feel like you heard Tim McGraw’s Something Like That about half a million times in the past decade? Well, the ratings folks at Nielsen will back you up on that, with their list of commercial radio’s most-played songs of the decade:

Country: Something Like That, Tim McGraw, 487,

...

Anderson
Cooper's
Ratings
Plummet

Dec 3, 2009 12:12 PM CST

Anderson Cooper's Ratings Plummet

With no election, CNN primetime stalwart staggers

(Newser) - Anderson Cooper may be widely respected, but he isnt widely watched. Anderson Cooper 360 is down 62% since last November, and down 70% among the 25-to-54 demographic that’s so important to advertisers, according to Nielsen figures. Last month the CNN 10pm stalwart came in second behind Fox’s On ...

DVRs Aren't Killing TV, They're Saving It

Nov 2, 2009 5:57 AM CST

DVRs Aren't Killing TV, They're Saving It

Turns out nearly half of viewers don't skip commercials

(Newser) - A year ago, TV networks were terrified of the DVR. The devices allowed viewers to skip commercials on playback, and who, given the choice, would watch TV commercials? Lots of people, it turns out. TV watching is such an inherently lazy activity that many viewers can’t summon the energy...

Leno's
Ratings
Tumble

Oct 7, 2009 1:31 PM CDT

Leno's Ratings Tumble

Real prime-time shows beat talk show every night

(Newser) - Here’s one headline Jay Leno won’t want to read. Ever since the fall TV season began in earnest Sept. 21, the former king of late night has been getting his keister kicked in primetime. He’s finished in last place every single night, with his numbers falling steadily...

TV Companies Team Up
to Take On Nielsen

Aug 14, 2009 6:37 AM CDT

TV Companies Team Up to Take On Nielsen

(Newser) - A group of media companies has joined forces with major advertisers to challenge Nielsen's dominance in TV ratings measurement, the Financial Times reports. The firms involved—including NBC, Time Warner, Disney, and Procter & Gamble—aim to have their rival audience measurement scheme up and running by next month,...

Dobbs' Ratings Plummet After Birther Talk

Jul 31, 2009 5:17 AM CDT

Dobbs' Ratings Plummet After Birther Talk

Questioning prez birth certificate scares off 15% of viewers

(Newser) - Even Bill O'Reilly thinks that Lou Dobbs' continuing sympathy with the birther movement questioning President Obama's birth certificate is just a ploy "to get ratings, trying to be provocative." But if Dobbs is pushing conspiracy theories to bump up viewership, it isn't working, reports the New York Observer....

For Struggling TV Networks, Obama's a Cash Cow

Jul 6, 2009 7:47 AM CDT

For Struggling TV Networks, Obama's a Cash Cow

(Newser) - The right might complain that television networks are in thrall to Barack Obama, but they have a good reason to be: the president is good for business. As Politico reports, Obama-related programs send ratings spiking—when he appeared on the Tonight Show, it had its best Friday night in 17...

In Push to Sell Ads, CBS Sells Itself in New Campaign

May 4, 2009 10:01 AM CDT

In Push to Sell Ads, CBS Sells Itself in New Campaign

In anticipation of 'upfront week,' CBS reminds advertisers of its worth

(Newser) - As a run-up to television’s upfront week—in which broadcasters sell as much advertising as possible for the year—CBS is taking the offensive, launching a massive ad campaign selling CBS itself. The initiative is aimed at curbing the perception that broadcast is declining and cable is the future...

Idol Ratings
Slip, but Still Strong at 30M

Jan 14, 2009 5:01 PM CST

Idol Ratings Slip, but Still Strong at 30M

Smallest audience since '04 as Fox sees 10% dip

(Newser) - American Idol’s eighth-season opener drew 10% fewer viewers than the previous installment’s premiere, Bloomberg reports. But with 30 million viewers, it still tripled the ratings of nearest rival CBS among viewers aged 18-49. Idol, Fox’s highest-rated show, raised $750 million in ad revenue last year. The judges...

Leno Doesn't Know When
You Go to Bed

Dec 17, 2008 12:28 PM CST

Leno Doesn't Know When You Go to Bed

Sorry Jay, Americans aren't turning in earlier —quite the opposite

(Newser) - Despite what Jay Leno may think, Americans aren't going to bed earlier, the blog TV by the Numbers reports. Nielsen ratings confirm that more people watch TV at 10pm than later on, but that's nothing new. "What the data shows is a decreasing trend of viewership between 10 and...

NBC's
Olympic
Ratings:
Gold

ANALYSIS

Aug 20, 2008 2:02 PM CDT

NBC's Olympic Ratings: Gold

Phelps' record-breaking swim is highlight of network's bonanza

(Newser) - NBC’s Olympic coverage smashed the competition last week, in what Variety suggests could be the most decisive rout in television history. Viewership was buoyed by Michael Phelps’ record-breaking gold-medal performance Saturday; in addition, NBC’s various networks reached a staggering 83% of the US. The margins were the biggest...