Near daily news about NBC News anchor Brian Williams’ conflation of facts caused more viewers to tune in to syndicated entertainment magazines the week ending February 8.
Magazine leader Entertainment Tonight (3.8 live plus same day national Nielsen rating, up 9% week-to-week) clocked its strongest numbers in four weeks. TMZ (2.3, up 10%) notched a new season high , and Access Hollywood (2.0, up 11%) matched its best score of the season, while Extra (1.8, up 20%) logged the largest increase in the category, setting a new season high.
The expanding Williams controversy played a major factor in those ratings spikes that week, according to number crunchers, dwarfing the Bobbi Kristina vigil and miles ahead of Amy Pascal’s departure from Sony that week.
Lucky for those programs, though not so much for Williams, the period was the first full week of the February sweep.
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