News Shorts

Hughes' gold gives NBC its second-highest night
A gold medal win in figure skating for 16-year-old American Sarah Hughes-and a bronze for favorite Michelle Kwan-gave NBC its second-highest-rated
night of the Olympiad so far and a dominant win in adults 18-49 and households. The network's 15.0 adult 18-49 dwarfed CBS's 3.5, Fox's 2.9 and ABC's 2.4, based on preliminary Nielsen ratings. The Olympic audience expanded every half-hour last night, surging from a 10.5 at 8 p.m. to a 13.7 at 9 p.m. to a 19.5 at 10:30 p.m. Fox picked the wrong night to air its "Glutton Bowl" two-hour special, as it finished dead last in its first hour and third in its second hour, ahead only of "Drew Carey" and "Whose Line" reruns on ABC. Repeats of "CSI" and "Everybody Loves Raymond" and "King of Queens" came in second for the first two hours of the night, averaging a 4.1 among adults 18-49. At 10 p.m. neither ABC's "Primetime Thursday" nor a rerun of CBS's "The Agency" registered as more than a blip on the radar, as their combined adult 18-49 audience represented little more than a fourth of the Olympic viewership in the demo. The average household rating and share for Thursday night were: NBC 25.9/39, CBS 6.5/10, Fox 4.0/6, and ABC 3.7/5. On Wednesday night, five medal wins--three of them gold--gave the U.S. its best medal day ever at the Winter Olympics and NBC another strong win in adults 18-49 and households. NBC posted its third-highest adult 18-49 rating of this Olympiad, its 11.2 easily outdistancing a 3.5 from Fox. ABC had a 3.3 and CBS a 2.5, based on preliminary Nielsen ratings. The winter Games from Salt Lake City have experienced a resurgence since Tuesday's huge 13.9 among adults 18-49, after suffering a steady decline in the 10 days after the opening ceremony. Its rating in the demo swelled from an 8.3 at 8 p.m. to a 12.6 at 9:30 p.m. before dropping off slightly to an 11.4 at 10:30 p.m. On the other networks at 8 p.m. repeats of "My Wife and Kids" and "According to Jim" beat out new episodes of the faltering "That '80s Show" and "Grounded for Life" on Fox with a 3.7 to their 3.3 adult 18-49 rating. At 9 p.m. "Bernie Mac" and "Titus" posted a 3.8 in adults 18-49, better than a 3.0 from reruns of "Drew Carey" and "Whose Line." The second hour of the Kurt Russell movie "Breakdown" on CBS outdrew "20/20 Downtown" on ABC at 10 p.m., as its 18-49 rating climbed 32 percent from its first hour. The average household rating and share for Wednesday night were: NBC 19.0/30, CBS 5.6/9, ABC 5.1/8 and Fox 4.6/7.

Officials: Video shows WSJ's Pearl is dead
For those who have followed the case of kidnapped Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, last night's news might have sounded like another false alarm in a saga that has seen numerous bizarre twists. Sadly, it was not. After holding out hope of his safe return for nearly a month, Pakistani and U.S. officials now say that Pearl, the Journal's South Asia bureau chief, is dead. He was 38. Law-enforcement officials originally believed that the suspects who claimed that Pearl was dead were lying, but changed their minds after seeing a videotape that reportedly shows Pearl's captors killing him by cutting his throat with a knife. His body has not been recovered. A statement from The Wall Street Journal reads, in part, "We are heartsick at his loss."

'Amazing Race 2' gets second airing on UPN
Demonstrating that Viacom siblings know how to share, UPN is planning to broadcast episodes of the Jerry Bruckheimer-produced reality series "The Amazing Race 2" two days after they air on CBS. The repurposing arrangement will allow UPN to build a Friday night reality block with "AR2" and "Under One Roof," a new series in which families will compete to win a house on a tropical island. Following the CBS premiere of "AR2" at 10 p.m. on Monday, March 11, and its first outing in its regular time slot at 9 p.m. on Wednesday, March 13, the show will debut on UPN Friday, March 15, with back-to-back episodes from 8 to 10 p.m. "Under One Roof" will debut in its regular time slot Friday, March 22, at 8 p.m., followed by "AR2" at 9 p.m.

Condit's wife hits Nat'l Enquirer with libel suit
Enquiring minds want to know: Did Carolyn Condit, wife of Rep. Gary Condit, "attack" Chandra Levy days before the 24-year-old intern went missing last spring? Nope, says Condit, and she's willing to go to court over it. Condit has filed a lawsuit against the National Enquirer for an article in which it claimed that she verbally attacked Levy and suggested that she may have played a part in Levy’s disappearance, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. On Aug. 7, 2001, an Enquirer article headlined "Cops: Condit's wife attacked Chandra" reported that Carolyn Condit placed a call from her California home to her husband's Washington, D.C., apartment several days before Levy was last seen. Levy answered the phone, according to the article, and a "screamfest" ensued. Condit's lawyers say that phone records show that no such conversation took place, a claim they say investigators will back up. The Enquirer's defense may hinge on whether its lawyers can establish Condit to be, as the wife of a U.S. congressman, a public figure.

ABC plans reality series on anti-terror troops
ABC is planning a 13-week series on U.S. troops serving in the war against terrorism in Afghanistan and other countries. Entitled "Profiles From the Front Line," and put together by "Amazing Race" producers Jerry Bruckheimer and Bertram van Munster, the series will focus on how their decision to serve across the globe has affected their families and them personally. Where security concerns make filming impossible, footage of troops discussing missions will be inserted, courtesy of the Defense Department. Having obtained the full support of the Pentagon, the show will not attempt to provide any exposé of military life. "The goal is to present profiles of the men and women who are fighting this war for us," van Munster told reporters. "This is going to be a very visual reality show with a strong patriotic message."

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