By David Bauder, Television Writer
NEW YORK (AP) --Hurricane Irma was a record-setter for The Weather Channel, too.
The Nielsen company said an average of 3.29 million people watched the network on Sunday as the deadly storm blew over Florida. Meteorologists were stationed all over the state, offering live shots in the intense wind and rain.
The Weather Channel’s previous record was only a day earlier, with the 2.82 million people who watched the storm approach on Saturday. Before that, the standard came with the 2.48 million people who watched Hurricane Irene in 2011.
“The fact we achieved our highest ratings in the history of The Weather Channel during Irma is a testament to the trust we have built with our viewers for delivering important, life-saving information when they need it most,” said network CEO Dave Shull. “I am so proud of our staff for their hard work during this storm.”
More than 10 million people watched either The Weather Channel or the three cable news networks on Sunday night, and TWC beat CNN, Fox News Channel and MSNBC. The Weather Channel had 3.54 million viewers in primetime, compared with 205,000 viewers on the same night a year ago, Nielsen said.
Despite that coverage, and with much of Florida out of power, Nielsen estimated nearly 24.4 million people watched the NFL game between the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants Sunday night. That was even higher than the opening Sunday-night game in 2016.
With two primetime football games, NBC easily won the week, averaging 10.5 million viewers. CBS averaged 4.6 million viewers in prime time, Fox had 4.4 million, ABC had 4.2 million, Telemundo had 1.6 million, Univision had 1.5 million, ION Television had 1.3 million and the CW had 1 million.
Fox News Channel was the week’s most popular cable network, averaging 2.41 million viewers in prime time. ESPN had 2.34 million, MSNBC had 1.94 million, CNN had 1.88 million and USA had 1.53 million.
ABC’s “World News Tonight” topped the evening newscasts with an average of 9 million viewers. NBC’s “Nightly News” had 8.7 million and the “CBS Evening News” had 6.8 million viewers.
Below are primetime viewership numbers compiled by Nielsen for Sept. 4-10. Listings include the week’s ranking and viewership.
1. NFL Football: N.Y. Giants at Dallas, NBC, 24.37 million.
2. NFL Football: Kansas City at New England, NBC, 21.8 million.
3. “Sunday Night NFL Pre-Kick,” NBC, 17.9 million.
4. “Thursday Night NFL Pre-Kick,” NBC, 16.24 million.
5. “America’s Got Talent” (Tuesday), NBC, 13.29 million.
6. “Football Night in America” (Sunday, 8 p.m.), NBC, 12.77 million.
7. “The OT,” Fox, 12.13 million.
8. “America’s Got Talent” (Wednesday), NBC, 11.99 million.
9. “NFL Opening Kick-Off Show,” NBC, 9.85 million.
10. “The Orville,” Fox, 8.56 million.
11. “60 Minutes,” CBS, 8.41 million.
12. College Football: Oklahoma at Ohio State, ABC, 8.08 million.
13. “NCIS,” CBS, 6.91 million.
14. “The Big Bang Theory,” CBS, 6.58 million.
15. “Big Brother” (Wednesday), CBS, 6.34 million.
16. “American Ninja Warrior,” NBC, 6.29 million.
17. “Big Brother” (Sunday), CBS, 6.27 million.
18. “Big Brother” (Thursday), CBS, 6.25 million.
19. “The Big Bang Theory” (Monday), CBS, 5.86 million.
20. “Football Night in America” (Sunday, 7:30 p.m.), NBC, 5.61 million.
Jennifer Kent On Why Her Feature Directing Debut, “The Babadook,” Continues To Haunt Us
"The Babadook," when it was released 10 years ago, didn't seem to portend a cultural sensation.
It was the first film by a little-known Australian filmmaker, Jennifer Kent. It had that strange name. On opening weekend, it played in two theaters.
But with time, the long shadows of "The Babadook" continued to envelop moviegoers. Its rerelease this weekend in theaters, a decade later, is less of a reminder of a sleeper 2014 indie hit than it is a chance to revisit a horror milestone that continues to cast a dark spell.
Not many small-budget, first-feature films can be fairly said to have shifted cinema but Kent's directorial debut may be one of them. It was at the nexus of that much-debated term "elevated horror." But regardless of that label, it helped kicked off a wave of challenging, filmmaker-driven genre movies like "It Follows," "Get Out" and "Hereditary."
Kent, 55, has watched all of this — and those many "Babadook" memes — unfold over the years with a mix of elation and confusion. Her film was inspired in part by the death of her father, and its horror elements likewise arise out of the suppression of emotions. A single mother (Essie Davis) is struggling with raising her young son (Noah Wiseman) years after the tragic death of her husband. A figure from a pop-up children's book begins to appear. As things grow more intense, his name is drawn out in three chilling syllables — "Bah-Bah-Doooook" — an incantation of unprocessed grief.
Kent recently spoke from her native Australia to reflect on the origins and continuing life of "The Babadook."
Q: Given that you didn't set out to in any way "change" horror, how have you regarded the unique afterlife of "The... Read More