Discover Yahoo! With Your Friends

Explore news, videos, and much more based on what your friends are reading and watching. Publish your own activity and retain full control.

To get started, first

YOUR FRIENDS' ACTIVITY

    The Cutline

    NBC slots GOP debate as special edition of ‘Rock Center’ (and doubles the show’s ratings)

    The stage of NBC News' GOP debate on Jan. 23, 2012. (AP)

    More than 7 million people watched NBC's Republican presidential debate on Monday, according to preliminary Nielsen estimates--making it the second most-watched debate of the 2012 cycle behind ABC's Dec. 10 debate broadcast, which drew 7.63 million.

    It was also a bit of a strategic ratings coup for Brian Williams.

    NBC is claiming the debate was a special edition of NBC's "Rock Center," boosting the overall ratings of Williams' weekly newsmagazine.  "Rock Center" normally draws about 3.5 million total viewers, putting it on par with cable news shows but well behind primetime offerings from NBC's network rivals.

    Last week's "Rock Center," for instance, was watched by 3.04 million people, according to Nielsen; Fox News' "The Factor" with Bill O'Reilly drew 3.6 million as a lead-in to Fox News' Jan. 16 debate.

    A spokeswoman for NBC News did not immediately return a request seeking comment regarding the "Rock Center" debate label.

    To be fair, if NBC was, indeed, trying to pull a fast one over on the Nielsen-scouring wizards, they were being pretty open about it. Monday's 90-minute debate was immediately followed by a "Rock Center"-produced piece on NBC's campaign embeds. And the debate itself featured an alternating on-screen "Rock Center" logo. (Not to mention NBC's "Meet The Press" debate on Jan. 8 was labeled as such.)Still, while the debate roughly doubled the audience for Williams and co., NBC lagged in fourth place for the night behind Fox ("Alcatraz" drew 8.95 million viewers), ABC (new episodes of "The Bachelor" and "Castle") and CBS, which was broadcasting reruns of "How I Met Your Mother" and "Two and a Half Men" and "Mike & Molly."

    Other popular Yahoo! News stories:

    Gingrich says NBC should have allowed clapping: 'Media doesn't control free speech'
    Suffering in polls, Romney calls Gingrich an 'influence peddler' in Florida debate
    Why Bloomberg Businessweek passed on 'bloody' Mitt Romney cover

     

    6 comments

    • slh  •  4 mths ago
      So that's why I didn't know there was a debate until it was over. WHO THE HELL WATCHES BRIAN WILLIAMS?????????
      • Art 4 mths ago
        I watch whenever I need a nice little nap!
      • KEH 4 mths ago
        LOL same here.
    • George  •  Reseda, California  •  4 mths ago
      See Republicans are already creating jobs
    • Lucky  •  Camden, New Jersey  •  4 mths ago
      Where do they get these questions? They need to get to the real issues. These debates are a joke
      • Catherine 4 mths ago
        Several have been very interesting - it relies on a skilled debate moderator who knows what they're doing.
    • Catherine  •  Abilene, Texas  •  4 mths ago
      Silence the audience reaction? Really? Ratings may have doubled at first until people heard the lame questions (Terry Schivo) and switched off the snoozer.
    • Ei8ht  •  San Diego, California  •  4 mths ago
      I never even knew Brian Williams had a special news magazine show.
    • terryt  •  Dunkirk, New York  •  4 mths ago
      In the final analysis, the Presidential and congressional elections will be about one thing..who calls the shots in America ,,the people or the Corporations through their GOP lapdogs..Take a stand , make a change ALL OUT SPARE NONE
      • missouska 4 mths ago
        Is there something in the water in Dunkirk that enhances intelligence and awareness?
    [ [ [['Connery is an experienced stuntman', 2]], 'http://yhoo.it/KeQd0p', '[Slideshow: See photos taken on the way down]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['Connery is an experienced stuntman', 7]], ' http://yhoo.it/KpUoHO', '[Slideshow: Death-defying daredevils]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['know that we have confidence in', 3]], 'http://yhoo.it/LqYjAX ', '[Related: The Secret Service guide to Cartagena]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['We picked up this other dog and', 5]], 'http://yhoo.it/JUSxvi', '[Related: 8 common dog fears, how to calm them]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['accused of running a fake hepatitis B', 5]], 'http://bit.ly/JnoJYN', '[Related: Did WH share raid details with filmmakers?]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['accused of running a fake hepatitis B', 3]], 'http://bit.ly/KoKiqJ', '[Factbox: AQAP, al-Qaeda in Yemen]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['have my contacts on or glasses', 3]], 'http://abcn.ws/KTE5AZ', '[Related: Should the murder charge be dropped?]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['have made this nation great as Sarah Palin', 5]], 'http://yhoo.it/JD7nlD', '[Related: Bristol Palin reality show debuts June 19]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['have made this nation great as Sarah Palin', 1]], 'http://bit.ly/JRPFRO', '[Related: McCain adviser who vetted Palin weighs in on VP race]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['A JetBlue flight from New York to Las Vegas', 3]], 'http://yhoo.it/GV9zpj', '[Related: View photos of the JetBlue plane in Amarillo]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['the 28-year-old neighborhood watchman who shot and killed', 15]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/white-house-stays-out-of-teen-s-killing-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/cv/ip/ap/default/120411/martinzimmermen.jpg', '630', ' ', 'AP', ], [ [['Titanic', 7]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/titanic-anniversary/', ' ', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/b/4e/b4e5ad9f00b5dfeeec2226d53e173569.jpeg', '550', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['He was in shock and still strapped to his seat', 6]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/navy-jet-crashes-in-virginia-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/cv/ip/ap/default/120406/jet_ap.jpg', '630', ' ', 'AP', ], [ [['xxxxxxxxxxxx', 11]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/russian-grannies-win-bid-to-sing-at-eurovision-1331223625-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/1/56/156d92f2760dcd3e75bcd649a8b85fcf.jpeg', '500', ' ', 'AP', ] ]
    [ [ [['did not go as far his colleague', 8]], '29438204', '0' ], [ [[' the 28-year-old neighborhood watchman who shot and killed', 4]], '28924649', '0' ], [ [['because I know God protects me', 14], ['Brian Snow was at a nearby credit union', 5]], '28811216', '0' ], [ [['The state news agency RIA-Novosti quoted Rosaviatsiya', 6]], '28805461', '0' ], [ [['measure all but certain to fail in the face of bipartisan', 4]], '28771014', '0' ], [ [['matter what you do in this case', 5]], '28759848', '0' ], [ [['presume laws are constitutional', 7]], '28747556', '0' ], [ [['has destroyed 15 to 25 houses', 7]], '28744868', '0' ], [ [['short answer is yes', 7]], '28746030', '0' ], [ [['opportunity to tell the real story', 7]], '28731764', '0' ], [ [['entirely respectable way to put off the searing constitutional controversy', 7]], '28723797', '0' ], [ [['point of my campaign is that big ideas matter', 9]], '28712293', '0' ], [ [['As the standoff dragged into a second day', 7]], '28687424', '0' ], [ [['French police stepped up the search', 17]], '28667224', '0' ], [ [['Seeking to elevate his candidacy back to a general', 8]], '28660934', '0' ], [ [['The tragic story of Trayvon Martin', 4]], '28647343', '0' ], [ [['Karzai will get a chance soon to express', 8]], '28630306', '0' ], [ [['powerful storms stretching', 8]], '28493546', '0' ], [ [['basic norm that death is private', 6]], '28413590', '0' ], [ [['songwriter also saw a surge in sales for her debut album', 6]], '28413590', '1', 'Watch music videos from Whitney Houston ', 'on Yahoo! Music', 'http://music.yahoo.com' ], [ [['keyword', 99999999999999999999999]], 'videoID', '1', 'overwrite-pre-description', 'overwrite-link-string', 'overwrite-link-url' ] ]

    About The Cutline

    The Cutline is the Yahoo! News media blog devoted to making sense of the press and its influence.

    Subscribe

    [X]

    How to subscribe

    Roll over each section to subscribe using Add to My Yahoo! or RSS Feed feeds.

    Yahoo! News offers dozens of RSS feeds you can read in My Yahoo! or using third-party RSS news reader software. Click here to find out more about RSS and how you can use it with Yahoo! News.

    Meet The Cutline Team

    The Upshot Network

    Edited by Dylan Stableford
    Edited by Eric Pfeiffer
    Edited by Olivier Knox
    Add your ideas and help make it happen. Join the conversation.
    Should Bill and Donna take on more risk to boost their business?
    How Josh's comment on a Remake America video laid the groundwork for something bigger.