By David Bauder, Television Writer
NEW YORK (AP) --The Nielsen company said Tuesday its report last week that ABC's evening newscast had broken a 263-week winning streak by NBC was incorrect.
The ratings reversal is the most visible example of a software error that Nielsen said had affected its measurement of television audiences since March. Because of the error, in many cases Nielsen had overestimated ABC's viewership in comparison to its rivals.
It had been cause for celebration at ABC when Nielsen reported that for the week beginning Sept. 29, "World News Tonight" had averaged 8.42 million viewers to 8.25 million for NBC's "Nightly News." NBC's newscast, anchored by Brian Williams, hadn't lost a week since 2009.
Nielsen, after fixing the software error and checking the numbers again, said that in fact ABC's newscast that week had 8.11 million viewers compared to NBC's 8.28 million.
So NBC's winning streak stretched to 264 weeks. Actually, it now stands at 265, since the company said NBC also won last week.
Bragging rights are important at the flagship telecasts for network news division. The perception that one network is gaining and the other is sinking also has financial repercussions, as advertisers look to hook up with the hot broadcast.
"We rely on Nielsen like everybody else in the industry and need accurate information," said ABC News spokesman Jeffrey Schneider.
The Nielsen flub "in no way changes the obvious momentum" of "World News Tonight," which has been anchored since the beginning of September by David Muir, Schneider said. ABC has won several weeks among the 25-to-54-year-old viewers who are considered extra valuable to advertisers, even as most evening news viewers are older.
"We are pleased that the corrected numbers confirm that 'Nightly News' is the No. 1 news broadcast in America," said Erika Masonhall, NBC News spokeswoman. "We remain, first and foremost, committed to our viewers and bringing them a broadcast with credible, authoritative news they can trust."
Nielsen has been going over its records for the past few weeks to determine if the software error caused other high-profile changes in the rankings.
Rom-Com Mainstay Hugh Grant Shifts To The Dark Side and He’s Never Been Happier
After some difficulties connecting to a Zoom, Hugh Grant eventually opts to just phone instead.
"Sorry about that," he apologizes. "Tech hell." Grant is no lover of technology. Smart phones, for example, he calls the "devil's tinderbox."
"I think they're killing us. I hate them," he says. "I go on long holidays from them, three or four days at at time. Marvelous."
Hell, and our proximity to it, is a not unrelated topic to Grant's new film, "Heretic." In it, two young Mormon missionaries (Chloe East, Sophie Thatcher) come knocking on a door they'll soon regret visiting. They're welcomed in by Mr. Reed (Grant), an initially charming man who tests their faith in theological debate, and then, in much worse things.
After decades in romantic comedies, Grant has spent the last few years playing narcissists, weirdos and murders, often to the greatest acclaim of his career. But in "Heretic," a horror thriller from A24, Grant's turn to the dark side reaches a new extreme. The actor who once charmingly stammered in "Four Weddings and a Funeral" and who danced to the Pointer Sisters in "Love Actually" is now doing heinous things to young people in a basement.
"It was a challenge," Grant says. "I think human beings need challenges. It makes your beer taste better in the evening if you've climbed a mountain. He was just so wonderfully (expletive)-up."
"Heretic," which opens in theaters Friday, is directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, co-writers of "A Quiet Place." In Grant's hands, Mr. Reed is a divinely good baddie — a scholarly creep whose wry monologues pull from a wide range of references, including, fittingly, Radiohead's "Creep."
In an interview, Grant spoke about these and other facets of his character, his journey... Read More