For the week ended Jan. 21, the most recent available, “Access Hollywood” had its best weekly household average, a 3.2, in almost three years.

The newsmagazine got the biggest scoops in the “Grey’s” blowup, airing segments with Washington and fellow “Grey’s” cast member Katherine Heigl that pumped ratings throughout the week. It was up 19 percent over the same week last year and also had its best average in women 18-49, a 1.9, since 2004. 

Several other syndicated celebrity shows were also up. “Entertainment Tonight” drew its best weekly average in almost two years, a 5.9 in households, and “Inside Edition” reached a season high with a 3.7 rating.

“Hollywood” saw the biggest bounce, which was no surprise since it had the most extensive coverage of the Washington story. The show, produced by NBC Universal, whose NBC network aired the Globes, carried Washington’s protest during a post-Globes press conference that he had not called “Grey’s” cast member T.R. Knight a faggot three months earlier, contrary to press reports.

Knight, who is gay, and Heigl both said Washington was lying. In a heavily promoted interview on “Hollywood,” Heigl said angrily that Washington shouldn’t be allowed to talk in public anymore.

Since then, Washington has apologized for his remarks, admitted he was wrong, and begun a rehab program to help him work through his anger issues.

Though “Grey’s” hasn’t seen a huge ratings difference up or down, the story has received big play in newsmagazines, celebrity magazines and gossip web sites, which are currently speculating whether he will be fired from the hit show by ABC. Washington has remained the top story for these outlets for days.

That’s because the public is fascinated by the public faux pas of celebrities, who never seem more human and thus more interesting than when they make a large mistake.

Last November, when former “Seinfeld” star Michael Richards was caught on tape calling a heckler a nigger and referencing lynching, ratings for the newsmagazines jumped. His apology appearance on “David Letterman” two months ago gave the show its biggest audience of the season.

And after the Gibson incident, in which the actor-director embarked upon a tirade against Jews after being arrested for drunk driving last summer, the newsmagazines saw a similar uptick, while traffic to TMZ.com, which broke the story, soared.

Meanwhile, in other dayparts for the week ended Jan. 21, NBC’s “Meet the Press” led the Sunday morning shows once again, bringing in 4.59 million total viewers and a 1.5 adults 25-54 rating. CBS’s “Face the Nation” was second in viewers with 3.0 million viewers and a 0.9, followed by ABC’s “This Week with George Stephanopoulos” with 2.88 million and a 1.0, and Fox's “News Sunday” in fourth place with 1.55 million and a 0.5 among adults 25-54.

In late night, NBC’s “Tonight Show with Jay Leno” finished first for the week with 6.5 million average total viewers and a 2.0 rating among adults 18-49. “Late Show with David Letterman” on CBS had 4.1 million viewers and a 1.3 rating in the demo, with ABC’s “Nightline” bringing in 3.7 million viewers and a 1.2 rating. In late late night, NBC’s “Late Night with Conan O’Brien” had 2.4 million total viewers and a 1.0 in 18-49s, CBS’s “The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson” had 1.9 million viewers and a 0.7, ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live” had 1.9 million viewers and a 0.7 and NBC’s “Last Call with Carson Daly” had 1.4 million viewers and a 0.6.

In morning shows, NBC’s “Today” led with 5.8 million total viewers and a 4.5 household rating and 15 share, followed by ABC’s “Good Morning America” with 4.9 million viewers and a 3.8/14. CBS’s “Early Show” was third with 3.0 million total viewers and a 2.3/8.

In daytime, CBS had the largest audience for daytime dramas and full daytime, 4.01 million and 4.5 million respectively. But the network was once again third among women 18-49 for daytime dramas with a 1.5 rating and for full daytime, also with a 1.5. ABC had the second-largest audience with 3.45 million watching its dramas and 3.63 million for full daytime, and was first among women 18-49 with a 1.8 rating for both dramas and full daytime. NBC had an audience of 2.95 million for both dramas and full daytime, and was second with a 1.6 rating in women 18-49 for both.

In evening network news for the week ended Jan. 28, NBC’s “Nightly News with Brian Williams” led with 9.3 million viewers and a 6.4 household rating. ABC’s “World News with Charles Gibson” was second with 9.1 million viewers and a 6.3, with CBS’s “Evening News with Katie Couric” third with 7.5 million total viewers and a 5.2 rating among households.