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'Envelope, Please: Gary Busey for . . .'
By Toni Fitzgerald
Feb 27, 2008 - 1:10:25 AM
Thank God for Gary Busey.
The odd, often volatile actor, a one-time Academy Award nominee and frequent celebreality show participant, may have provided the only buzzworthy moment of this year’s otherwise moribund Oscars.
Video of a rambling Busey crashing an E! pre-Oscars red carpet interview and lunging to kiss actress Jennifer Garner has become a viral hit, receiving a huge number of mentions on blogs, post-Oscars chats and entertainment forums.
It’s the sort of weird moment that just a few years ago would have died quickly because of its you-had-to-be-there quality.
But now, with YouTube, MySpace and just about every TV network airing their own online video, the Busey buss may be the only thing that lives on from this Oscars, which pulled the lowest viewership numbers ever with 32 million tuning in.
The 2-1/2-minute clip, which has been dubbed “When Busey Attacks,” has drawn more than 400,000 hits on YouTube alone and thousands more on ABC News, Dogpile, AOL Video and more.
“In an evening with few surprises, Gary Busey's cameo during Jennifer Garner's E! interview remains a highlight. Busey's demeanor can be most appropriately described as ‘spirited,’” writes Dallas Morning News blogger Jason Sheeler.
Here’s what happened. E! host Ryan Seacrest was about to do the usual “what are you wearing” with Oscar nominee Laura Linney and presenter Garner when a somewhat disheveled Busey wandered over.
He exclaimed to Seacrest, whom he’d never met before, “You! I've been looking for you for years!”
Seacrest replied, “Oh no. What have I done?”
“It’s what you haven’t done,” Busey declared before wandering away. Seacrest resumed his interview but was interrupted again a minute later when Busey lurched toward Linney to congratulate her on her nomination.
Seacrest then introduced Busey to Garner, whom the 63-year-old hugged and kissed like a long-lost friend. When the interview finally resumed, a miffed Garner responded to a question about her daughter by saying, “Ask me about getting kissed on the red carpet by this man. That was nice.”
Busey ended the strange interaction assuring Seacrest that the two of them would talk again soon.
Actually, they caught up Monday when Busey agreed to guest on Seacrest’s KIIS-FM radio program. Though Busey was supposed to be explaining what the heck he’d been doing on the red carpet, he mostly rambled and anointed Seacrest “an innocent champion of honesty.”
If Busey helped Seacrest and E!’s “Live From the Red Carpet: 2008 Academy Awards” win the buzz contest, the host also won the cable ratings tussle.
With nearly 3 million viewers tuning in to the two-hour show at 6 p.m., E! more than quadrupled the tune-in for TV Guide Network’s competing red carpet program.
Meanwhile, in other cable ratings for the week ended Feb. 24:
Top five networks in primetime (18-49s): USA, ESPN, TNT, TBS, FX
Top five networks in primetime (total viewers): USA, TNT, ESPN, CNN, Fox News Channel
Top movie (18-49s): TNT’s “Walking Tall” (Saturday, 10 p.m.) 2.10 million
Top sporting event (total viewers): ESPN’s “College Basketball: Tennessee vs. Memphis” (Saturday, 9 p.m.) 5.28 million
Shows making the top 10 among 18-34s, 18-49s and 25-54s: USA’s “WWE Entertainment” (Monday, 10 p.m.); CNN’s “Texas Democratic Debate” (Thursday, 8 p.m.); ESPN’s “College Basketball: Tennessee vs. Memphis” (Saturday, 9 p.m.); ESPN’s “NBA Basketball: Lakers vs. Suns” (Wednesday, 9 p.m.).
Show on the rise: ESPN's “Tennessee at Memphis,” Saturday 9 p.m. The showdown between the nation's top two men's college teams averaged 3.64 million households, the best ever for a regular-season college game on the network.
Show on the decline: Bravo’s “Project Runway,” Wednesday 10 p.m. While still a top-10 program for the week among 18-49s, “Project Runway” slipped 23 percent week-to-week in the demo from 2.65 million viewers to 2.04 million.
|
TOP 25 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Ranked on Household Rating
Week Ending February 24 |
|
Rank |
Primetime |
Total Day |
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1
|
USA
|
2324
|
NICK
|
1925
|
|
2
|
TNT
|
1659
|
USA
|
1178
|
|
3
|
ESPN
|
1470
|
NAN
*
|
1158
|
|
4
|
CNN
|
1372
|
TNT
|
1082
|
|
5
|
NAN
|
1342
|
TOON
|
884
|
|
6
|
FOXN
|
1316
|
FOXN
|
792
|
|
7
|
TBSC
|
1238
|
TBSC
|
784
|
|
8
|
FX
|
1098
|
ADSM*
|
749
|
|
9
|
LIF
|
1009
|
ESPN
|
710
|
|
10
|
SPK
|
997
|
AEN
|
700
|
|
11
|
HALL
|
977
|
LIF
|
690
|
|
12
|
TOON
|
972
|
HALL
|
646
|
|
13
|
AEN
|
968
|
CNN
|
631
|
|
14
|
DISC
|
960
|
TRU
|
628
|
|
15
|
HIST
|
910
|
FX
|
622
|
|
16
|
TRU
|
907
|
DISC
|
615
|
|
17
|
HGTV
|
863
|
HIST
|
602
|
|
18
|
AMC
|
852
|
SPK
|
586
|
|
19
|
MTV
|
834
|
HGTV
|
569
|
|
20
|
SCIF
|
781
|
FAM
|
541
|
|
21
|
FAM
|
760
|
MTV
|
536
|
|
22
|
CMDY
|
698
|
AMC
|
506
|
|
23
|
VH1
|
691
|
TVLD
|
506
|
|
24
|
FOOD
|
645
|
FOOD
|
484
|
|
25
|
TLC
|
638
|
CMDY
|
461
|
|
* Network broadcasts less than 51% of minutes in a 24-hour day.
Source: Turner Entertainment Research based on data from Nielsen Media Research.
|
|
TOP 25 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE PROGRAMS
Ranked on Households
Week Ending February 24 |
|
Rank
|
Program |
Net
|
(000) |
|
1
|
FOP Movie Fairly Odd Baby
|
NICK
|
5574
|
|
2
|
SR/Texas Democratic Debate
|
CNN
|
5329
|
|
3
|
Anderson
Cooper 360
|
CNN
|
5064
|
|
4
|
Monk
|
USA
|
4634
|
|
5
|
WWE Entertainment
|
USA
|
3927
|
|
6
|
WWE Entertainment
|
USA
|
3707
|
|
7
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
3694
|
|
8
|
Tennessee/Memphis
|
ESPN
|
3636
|
|
9
|
FOP Movie Fairly Odd Baby
|
NICK
|
3465
|
|
10
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
3356
|
|
11
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
3193
|
|
12
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
3121
|
|
12
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
3121
|
|
14
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
3056
|
|
15
|
Zoey 101
|
NICK
|
2959
|
|
16
|
Law & Order
|
TNT
|
2931
|
|
17
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
2896
|
|
18
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
2869
|
|
19
|
iCarly
|
NICK
|
2862
|
|
20
|
Lakers/Suns
|
ESPN
|
2813
|
|
21
|
FOP Movie Fairly Odd Baby
|
NICK
|
2778
|
|
22
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
2749
|
|
23
|
Spongebob Atlantis Pantis
|
NICK
|
2732
|
|
24
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
2711
|
|
25
|
House
|
USA
|
2685
|
|
Source: Turner Entertainment Research based on data from Nielsen Media Research.
|
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Adults 18-34
Week Ending February 24 |
|
Rank |
PRIME TIME |
TOTAL DAY |
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1
|
TBSC
|
617
|
ADSM*
|
372
|
|
2
|
ESPN
|
608
|
NICK
|
359
|
|
3
|
USA
|
583
|
TBSC
|
328
|
|
4
|
MTV
|
509
|
NAN
*
|
324
|
|
5
|
TNT
|
483
|
ESPN
|
322
|
|
6
|
FX
|
455
|
MTV
|
302
|
|
7
|
CMDY
|
401
|
TNT
|
296
|
|
8
|
VH1
|
386
|
USA
|
286
|
|
9
|
DISC
|
383
|
FX
|
264
|
|
10
|
NAN
|
307
|
CMDY
|
246
|
|
* Network broadcasts less than 51% of minutes in a 24-hour day.
Source: Turner Entertainment Research based on data from Nielsen Media Research.
|
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE SHOWS
Adults 18-34
Week Ending February 24 |
|
Rank |
PROGRAM |
NET |
(000) |
|
1
|
Nip Tuck
|
FX
|
1547
|
|
2
|
RW/RR Gauntlet 3
|
MTV
|
1463
|
|
3
|
Making The Band 4
|
MTV
|
1424
|
|
4
|
Tennessee/Memphis
|
ESPN
|
1412
|
|
5
|
Lakers/Suns
|
ESPN
|
1407
|
|
6
|
WWE Entertainment
|
USA
|
1384
|
|
7
|
America
's Best Dance Crew
|
MTV
|
1336
|
|
8
|
Family Guy
|
ADSM
|
1333
|
|
9
|
SR/Texas Democratic Debate
|
CNN
|
1257
|
|
10
|
Family Guy
|
TBSC
|
1257
|
|
Source: Turner Entertainment Research based on data from Nielsen Media Research.
|
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Adults 18-49
Week Ending February 24 |
|
Rank |
PRIME TIME |
TOTAL DAY |
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1
|
USA
|
1323
|
TNT
|
645
|
|
2
|
ESPN
|
1050
|
USA
|
644
|
|
3
|
TNT
|
1015
|
NICK
|
588
|
|
4
|
TBSC
|
998
|
TBSC
|
574
|
|
5
|
FX
|
859
|
NAN
*
|
552
|
|
6
|
DISC
|
696
|
ESPN
|
524
|
|
7
|
AEN
|
657
|
FX
|
477
|
|
8
|
MTV
|
655
|
ADSM*
|
470
|
|
9
|
SPK
|
649
|
AEN
|
428
|
|
10
|
CNN
|
592
|
DISC
|
427
|
|
* Network broadcasts less than 51% of minutes in a 24-hour day.
Source: Turner Entertainment Research based on data from Nielsen Media Research.
|
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE SHOWS
Adults 18-49
Week Ending February 24 |
|
Rank |
PROGRAM |
NET |
(000) |
|
1
|
SR/Texas Democratic Debate
|
CNN
|
2812
|
|
2
|
WWE Entertainment
|
USA
|
2728
|
|
3
|
Monk
|
USA
|
2660
|
|
4
|
Tennessee/Memphis
|
ESPN
|
2529
|
|
5
|
WWE Entertainment
|
USA
|
2484
|
|
6
|
Anderson
Cooper 360
|
CNN
|
2449
|
|
7
|
Nip Tuck
|
FX
|
2416
|
|
8
|
Lakers/Suns
|
ESPN
|
2328
|
|
9
|
Walking Tall (2004)
|
TNT
|
2100
|
|
10
|
Project Runway
|
BRAV
|
2039
|
|
Source: Turner Entertainment Research based on data from Nielsen Media Research.
|
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Adults 25-54
Week Ending February 24 |
|
|
PRIME TIME |
TOTAL DAY |
|
Rank
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1
|
USA
|
1353
|
USA
|
660
|
|
2
|
TNT
|
987
|
TNT
|
647
|
|
3
|
ESPN
|
936
|
NICK
|
490
|
|
4
|
TBSC
|
802
|
TBSC
|
478
|
|
5
|
FX
|
776
|
ESPN
|
442
|
|
6
|
CNN
|
668
|
AEN
|
438
|
|
7
|
AEN
|
664
|
NAN
*
|
424
|
|
8
|
DISC
|
633
|
FX
|
406
|
|
9
|
SPK
|
633
|
LIF
|
403
|
|
10
|
HIST
|
599
|
DISC
|
379
|
|
* Network broadcasts less than 51% of minutes in a 24-hour day.
Source: Turner Entertainment Research based on data from Nielsen Media Research.
|
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE SHOWS
Adults 25-54
Week Ending February 24 |
|
Rank |
PROGRAM |
NET |
(000) |
|
1
|
Monk
|
USA
|
3081
|
|
2
|
SR/Texas Democratic Debate
|
CNN
|
2986
|
|
3
|
Anderson
Cooper 360
|
CNN
|
2891
|
|
4
|
WWE Entertainment
|
USA
|
2600
|
|
5
|
Tennessee/Memphis
|
ESPN
|
2422
|
|
6
|
WWE Entertainment
|
USA
|
2368
|
|
7
|
Walking Tall (2004)
|
TNT
|
2043
|
|
8
|
Lakers/Suns
|
ESPN
|
1987
|
|
9
|
Four Brothers
|
TNT
|
1830
|
|
10
|
House
|
USA
|
1761
|
|
Source: Turner Entertainment Research based on data from Nielsen Media Research.
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