• by Wayne Friedman , December 28, 2006

Entertainment lists tell us where we have been, where we should go--and more importantly, what not to do. In our part-two look at entertainment businesses, Nielsen showed us that 2006 had a little bit of all three.

Looking at Nielsen's top 10 list of Web brands, in terms of page views, Yahoo was easily the No. 1 site, followed by the usual suspects: MySpace, Google, eBay, MSN and AOL. The best--and only old-line traditional media/network brand--on the list was Nickelodeon, coming in at eighth place. Interestingly, as a Web brand, the large cable operator, Comcast, made it into ninth place.

The top theatrical box office film was overwhelmingly Walt Disney's "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl," with almost $425 million in U.S. revenues. The animated movie "Cars," also from Disney, came in second. Three other animated movies also made the top 10: "Ice Age: The Meltdown," "Over the Hedge" and "Happy Feet."

Only one comedy made the list: "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby."

The lack of comedies here might suggest a moratorium on big-budget theatrical comedies in 2007 with massive special effects. Studios won't get much bang for their buck. Or at least, don't expect much from low-budget comedy affairs.

On the other hand, an animated film is good business.

In the music industry, one might do well to be in the high-school music business. Disney Channel's roaring success "High School Musical" was the best-selling album of the year. Rascal Flatts' "Me and My Gang" came in second. "American "Idol" favorite Carrie Underwood's "Some Hearts" came in third.

Looking to get into the ringtone business? Apparently, hordes want to know what Akon, Justin Timberlake, Hinder and Ludacris are up to. Consumers picked up those artists' music more than any other when it comes to phones.

The top 10 list of advertisers that spend the most online include GUS plc, the U.K. owners of the Experian credit service; Vonage, the Internet phone service company; NetFlix, the DVD rental company, NexTag, a shopping Web site; and the wireless, phone and Internet company Verizon. Nielsen says GUS spent nearly $700 million online this year--more than twice as much as second-place Vonage.

In the book business, it would be best to change your name to Patterson. Because this year, suspense writer James Patterson had four of the top 10 in best-selling hardcovers: "Beach Road," "The 5th Horseman," "Cross" and "Judge & Jury." Mitch Albom had the No. 1 fictional hardcover: "For One More Day."

In a newer category, top 10 audio books--which get a lot of play in cars--two of Patterson's books made the chart. Notably, two of the top 10 books are about language--and a signpost for the changing direction of culture: The second-best-selling audio book was "Complete Spanish: The Basics;" and in tenth place, "Learn In Your Car: Spanish Level 1."

Of course, for traditional media, it's ad spending that drives everything. Below is a list of Nielsen Monitor-Plus' ad spending:

Top 10 Advertisings In U.S. In 2006

1. Procter & Gamble-$2,903,645,851

2. General Motors Corp.-$1,953,993,498

3. AT&T Inc.-$1,440,567,658

4. Ford Motor Co. $1,429,333,335

5. DaimlerChrysler AG $1,299,331,574

6. Time Warner Inc. $1,165,728,375

7. Verizon Communications Inc. $1,131,024,907

8. Toyota Motor Corp. $1,087,515,526

9. Altria Group Inc. $1,038,685,970

10. Walt Disney Co. $1,028,170,671

Note: Data from Jan. 1-Oct. 31, 2006. Based on spending estimates in the following media: Network TV, Cable TV, Spot TV, Syndicated TV, Hispanic TV, Nat'l/Local Magazines, Network/Spot Radio, Outdoor, FSI (CPGs only), Nat'l/Local Newspapers (display ads only), Nat'l/Local Sunday Supplements.