The numbers don’t lie. People cared about two things this year — football and Snooki. See for yourself. Three charts rank what we watched on TV, what we talked about and what we read about in the past year.
Most read TV stories of the year @nypost.com
1. “Bottoms up!” — US Supreme Court’s decision to vacate the $1.21 million fine levied against ABC after a 2003 episode of “NYPD Blue” showed actress Charlotte Ross’ naked bum opens the way for more nudity in primetime.
2. “CBS reporter speaks gibberish on-air” — Strange case of an LA reporter’s breakdown during the red carpet arrivals at the Grammys.
3. “Couric offered ‘60 Min’ ” — CBS attempts to keep Katie Couric in the fold.
4. “Rosie to rescue?” Oprah Winfrey’s struggling cable networks bets its future on Rosie O’Donnell’s new talk show.
5. “Comedian Ricky Gervais ‘crossed the line’ with snarky jokes, Golden Globes boss says” — Gervais poking too much fun at celebs.
6. “New photos reveal slimmed-down Snooki”— Her weight-loss sucess.
7. “They’re back!” — “Beavis and Butt-head” return to MTV after long vacation.
8. “Florence mayor gives ‘Shore’ cast rules for filming” — What the “Shore” crew could and couldn’t do in Italy.
9. “ ‘Jersey Shore’ star almost takes bridge plunge”— Snapshots of Deena Cortese getting a little too up-close and personal with Florence’s River Arno.
10. “Rutgers University pays Snooki more than commencement address speaker” — For two Q&As with the “Shore” star, school paid $32,000, which was $2,000 more than Nobel Prize-winning author Toni Morrison.
Most watched TV programs of the year
1. “Super Bowl XLV-” -Fox-Feb. 6 – 111 million viewers
2. “AFC Championship” -CBS – Jan. 23- 54.9 million viewers
3. “NFC Championship” – Fox – Jan. 23 – 51.9 million viewers
4. “AFC Divisional Playoff” -CBS – Jan. 16 – 43.5 million viewers
5. “NFC Wildcard Game” – Fox -Jan. 9 – 39.3 million viewers
6. “Academy Awards” – ABC – Feb. 27 – 37.9 million viewers
7. “AFC Divisional Playoff” – CBS – Jan. 15 – 34 million viewers
8. “NFL Playoff Game 2” – NBC – Jan. 8 – 33.3 million viewers
9. “NFC Playoff” – Fox – Jan. 16 – 32.5 million viewers
10. Dolphins vs. Cowboys -CBS – Nov. 24 -30.9 million viewers
11. “NFC Playoff” – Fox -Jan. 15 – 30.8 million viewers
12. Packers vs. Lions – Fox – Nov. 24 – 30.2 million viewers
13. “American Idol” – Fox – May 25 – 29.3 million viewers
13. “Two and a Half Men” -CBS – Sept. 19 – 28.7 million viewers
Source: Nielsen
Most-talked about TV events of the year on social media
1. “William & Kate: The Royal Wedding” April 29, 20115,641,263 viewers
2. “MTV Video Music Awards” Aug. 28, 20115,567,954 viewers
3. “Super Bowl” Feb. 6, 20113,037,241 viewers
4. “American Music Awards” Nov. 20, 20112,876,243 viewers
5. “Grammy Awards” Feb. 13, 20112,529,717 viewers
6. “Academy Awards” Feb. 27, 20112,015,118 viewers
7. “BET Hip Hop Awards” Oct. 11, 20111,519,794 viewers
8. “BET Awards” June 26, 20111,317,938 viewers
9. “Emmy Awards” Sept. 18, 20111,109,629 viewers
10. “Latin Grammy Awards” Nov. 10, 2011840,112 viewers
Source: Trendrr