Journalism / Mass Communication
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Stephanie Alexander
Social Sciences Librarian
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Resources > Subject Guides
Subject Guide for Journalism and Mass Communication
Finding Nielsen Ratings
If you're looking for Nielsen Ratings, you have two options:
Search Internet Resources (Recent Nielsen ratings)
Most of the Internet resources will only give you the most recent Nielsen ratings (usually the past week). Click on "Search Internet Resources" to see the list of websites where ratings are available. For older ratings, use publications at the CU Libraries.
Search Publications/Databases @ the CU Libraries (Older Nielsen Ratings)
By searching the publications we have at the library, you'll be able to search for older Nielsen ratings (prior to the last week). This is important for older shows, if you want to look at ratings over time, or if a particular show is on hiatus.
| Search Internet Resources (Recent ratings) |
Nielsen Media Research
The website for Nielsen Media Research will give you the Nielsen ratings for the top ten programs (for broadcast TV, cable TV, syndicated programs, among African American viewers, and among Hispanic viewers) for the current week. It also includes a short description of how the ratings work and what the numbers mean.
The Futon Critic
Includes the Nielsen Ratings for primetime programs on a daily (M, T, W, T, F, S, S) and week basis. Each day also includes the Nielsen primetime program ratings from one year ago. Includes key to explain what the numbers mean.
TVweek.com
Includes the weekly primetime ratings for the past two years (from the TelevisionWeek trade publication), broken down by day of the week. Also includes the Cable Ratings and the Top 10 Cable Networks (prime time and total day).
USAToday.com
Includes the current week's Nielsen ratings for the top 20 broadcast programs (previous weeks not available). Under "Expanded Nielsen Ratings," also includes the current week's top 15 cable shows, the top 20 shows among ages 18-49, the top network news programs, and the top cable news talk shows.
Yahoo! TV
On the Yahoo! TV website, under "TV News," there are often articles discussing the television ratings for particular days or the past week.
Zap2it.com
Includes the current weekly primetime ratings (Top 20 shows, Nielsen ratings by channel), season-to-date rankings (for primetime shows), current top 15 cable series, the current top 25 syndicated series, and the current top sports events. Each of these lists is sortable by total viewers or by number of households. Also includes news headlines featuring Nielsen ratings.
| Search Publications/Databases @ the CU Libraries (Older ratings) |
Variety (Publication) |
| Online |
The full text of the publication Variety is available through many of the CU Libraries databases. Visit the Chinook catalog record for Variety to see the list of databases (and their listed dates of coverage). Once you've chosen a database, you can search by keywords such as Nielsen, Nielsen ratings, Nielsen ratings report, Nielsen primetime ratings report, etc. |
| Print |
The Periodicals Room in Norlin has the current issues of Variety to browse, and the Media Library in Norlin has the full run of Variety on microfilm from 1905 - present. |
Broadcasting and Cable (Publication) |
| Online |
The full text of the publication Broadcasting and Cable is available through many of the CU Libraries databases. Visit the Chinook catalog record for Broadcasting and Cable to see the list of databases (and their listed dates of coverage). Once you've chosen a database, you can search by keywords such as nielsen AND ratings. |
| Print |
The Business Library has the current year of Broadcasting and Cable available under the call number HF6146.R3 B719. |
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| Online |
You can search the LexisNexis Academic database for articles that contain Nielsen ratings and the television program you are looking for.
- Choose "Guided News Search,"
- Step One: choose "Arts & Sports News" for the news category
- Step Two: choose "Entertainment News" for the news source
- Enter the term "Nielsen" (or "Nielsen rating") into the first search box
- Enter the name of your show in the second search box - and you may want change the drop-down menu next to the search box to search "Full Text"
- Enter the dates you'd like to search
- Click the "Search" button
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Have additional questions? Send an email to the Journalism Librarian.
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