Nielsens: Michael Vick interview lifts '60 Minutes'

USA Today

August 18, 2009 by USA Today

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•Contrite quarterback. James Brown's interview with Michael Vick, the new Philadelphia Eagles quarterback who served time for engaging in dogfighting, powered CBS' 60 Minutes to the week's No. 2 spot with 12 million viewers.

•Finding its level. ABC's two-week Who Wants to Be a Millionaire special averaged just under 7 million viewers for its first six episodes, with a high of 7.3 million on Monday and a low of 6 million on Tuesday.

•Real strength. TNT's The Closer (7 million), which stars Kyra Sedgwick, outmuscled the boys of the WWE, NASCAR and the NFL (in addition to USA's Royal Pains and Monk) to take cable's top spot for the week.

•Vampire's delight. HBO's True Blood notched another series high (4.5 million).

•Mad about Men. The third-season premiere of Mad Men attracted the AMC drama's largest audience to date, 2.8 million people, a 33% increase over the Season 2 premiere. It also saw double-digit improvement in various viewer demographics, with adults 25-54 up 37% and men 25-54 up 45%.

Kardashian alert. E!'s Kourtney and Khloe Take Miami, which follows the antics of the Kardashian gals, drew a strong 2.7 million viewers for its series premiere. VH1's My Antonio, in which women compete to date Antonio Sabato Jr., notched 1 million viewers in its first outing.

•Arrivals. In season-premiere news, Criss Angel: Mindfreak opened with 1.8 million viewers; Man Vs. Wild, 1.4 million; and Daddy's Girls, 862,000 and 1.2 million in back-to-back episodes.

•Departures. Fox's Mental left quietly, averaging only 2.8 million viewers for its two-hour finale. Bravo's Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List drew 781,000 for its season swan song, down from the 945,000 who tuned in for the fifth-season premiere. Another Bravo season closer, NYC Prep (758,000), also was down from its premiere (1.2 million).

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antonio sabato jr, criss angel mindfreak, cbs 60 minutes, quarterback james brown, philadelphia eagles quarterback, viewer demographics, philadelphia eagles, michael vick, who wants to be a millionaire, swan song, new philadelphia, kourtney, premiere news, series premiere, million viewers, season premiere, Kyra Sedgwick, Kathy Griffin, Mad Men, True Blood

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