(28 December 2005 6:00 pm)

MUMBAI: Several of American television's perennial favourites during the holiday season did well with children of all ages in the seven local markets where Nielsen Media Research has introduced Local People Meter (LPM) service.

In the 40 years or more that these four Christmas classics A Charlie Brown Christmas, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, It's a Wonderful Life and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer have been presented on television, this is the first holiday season that local demographic ratings have been widely available.

Because December is not a traditional “sweeps” month, Nielsen was unable to provide demographic information on local programming until it introduced its Local People Meter service, which electronically and continually records audience viewing. The LPM demographic information demonstrates the enduring appeal of the four classic specials, whose popularity appears to be driven by Baby Boomers watching these programs with their children.

Among the four specials A Charlie Brown Christmas, which celebrated its 40th anniversary on television this year had the highest overall average ratings, with Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer scoring the highest with kids.

The most popular classic holiday special overall in the LPM markets Charlie Brown delivered its biggest ratings among all viewers (over age 2) in Chicago. It appealed to all ages, with strong performance among viewers age 25-54.

The programme was especially popular with children, delivering double digit ratings for children age 2-11 in Chicago, Philadelphia and Washington, DC.

The movie How the Grinch Stole Christmas with Jim Carrey had its biggest overall local rating among all viewers in Philadelphia. The Grinch's highest rating among children age 2-11 was also in Philadelphia, with Boston and Chicago as strong runners-up.