Nielsen ranks LOST #1 online TV show

For the first time ever, Nielsen has released rankings data to the public about TV shows viewed on the Internet, and Lost came in at #1!

The data in question comes from December 2008, and shows that Lost received a total of 1,425,000 unique viewers that month. As Lost fans know, the show does not air on ABC in the month of December, but returns with a new season every January, so this data is a reflection of more than a million fans who wanted to get caught up on Lost Season 4 before Season 5 began.

The #2 show on the list pulled in 1.1 million viewers, and that show was Saturday Night Live. The top five online shows were rounded out by Grey’s Anatomy, Desperate Housewives, and Heroes.

Robin’s rant: It’s high time the networks, sponsors, and everybody else started taking into account all the new ways people — particularly the younger generation — watch TV these days. Ratings should be about a lot more than how many people watch the show on live TV (and let’s face it, that group is made up of a lot of elder generation viewers, which is why proceedurals do so well in the ratings). In addition to network websites like ABC.com showing full episodes, there are other ways to acquire the latest episodes of almost every major show on television that have nothing to do with live TV, like DVR recordings and iTunes purchases. And let’s not forget full season DVD sales, which is how many viewers get caught up on their favorite shows these days. Heck, you can even watch Lost and many other shows from your Xbox nowadays. It’s no wonder Lost’s regular Nielsen ratings are dropping; the younger, more technologically savvy audience that Lost is known for capturing — the kind of viewers who want more than to just “veg out” in front of the boob tube — is watching it in a multitude of new and exciting ways.