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    Elon Musk moves ratings as “SNL” host; Nielsen week in review

    By SHOOTUpdated:No Comments1248 Views
    This image released by NBC shows host Elon Musk delivering his opening monologue on "Saturday Night Live" in New York on May 8, 2021. (Will Heath/NBC via AP)

    By Lynn Elber, Television Writer

    LOS ANGELES (AP) --

    Elon Musk moved a cryptocurrency's value and TV ratings with his "Saturday Night Live" appearance.

    Last weekend's show averaged 7.3 million viewers, making it the third most-watched episode for the season behind the ones hosted by Dave Chappelle and Chris Rock, according to Nielsen figures.

    A good outcome for the billionaire's first time hosting "SNL," although reviews of his attempts at comedy ranged from charitable to meh. 

    The biggest pan, however, may be the response to jokes mocking the cryptocurrency dogecoin, for which Musk actually has been a steadfast booster: In the hour after the show started, dogecoin's already volatile price fell 23% and bounced up and down the following day.

    "Saturday Night Live" included an opening exchange between Musk and his mother, who grimaced when he said that dogecoin would be her Mother's Day gift, and an "Update" bit in which Musk appeared as a faux financial analyst, Lloyd Ostertag.

    Anchor Michael Che reacts to Ostertag's convoluted description of dogecoin as the future of currency with deep skepticism, calling it a "hustle." Musk in character echoes the sentiment: "Yeah, it's a hustle."

    In primetime last week, CBS was the most-watched network with an average 4.8 million viewers. NBC had 3.2 million, ABC had 3 million, Fox had 2.3 million, Univision had 1.3 million and Telemundo had 960,000.

    Fox News Channel topped the cable networks, averaging 2.1 million viewers in primetime. MSNBC had 1.5 million, HGTV had 1.2 million and CNN had 907,000.

    ABC's "World News Tonight" was first in the evening news ratings contest, averaging 7.95 million viewers. NBC's "Nightly News" had 6.46 million and the "CBS Evening News" had 4.86 million.

    For the week of May 3-9, the top 20 programs, their networks and viewerships:

    1. "NCIS," CBS, 8.68 million.
    2. "FBI," CBS, 8.06 million.
    3. "60 Minutes," CBS, 7.78 million.
    4. "The Equalizer," CBS, 7.224 million.
    5. "Chicago Fire," NBC, 7.221 million.
    6. "Chicago Med," NBC, 7.09 million.
    7. "Young Sheldon," CBS, 6.64 million.
    8. "911," Fox, 5.91 million.
    9. "Blue Bloods," CBS, 5.87 million.
    10. "American Idol," ABC, 5.74 million.
    11. "Chicago P.D.," NBC. 5.69 million.
    12. "The Voice," NBC, 5.64 million.
    13. "NCIS: Los Angeles," CBS, 5.60 million.
    14. "Bull," CBS, 5.53 million.
    15. "FBI: Most Wanted," CBS, 4.89 million.
    16. "Mom," CBS, 5.29 million.
    17. "The Neighborhood," CBS, 5.19 million.
    18. "911: Lone Star," Fox, 5.11 million.
    19. "Magnum, P.I.," CBS, 5 million.
    20. "NCIS: new Orleans," CBS, 4.96 million.

    Tags:Elon MuskNielsenSaturday Night Live



    Ex-OpenAI engineer who raised legal concerns about the technology he helped build has died

    Saturday, December 21, 2024
    Suchir Balaji poses for a photo in Hawaii in 2018. Balaji was a former OpenAI engineer and whistleblower who died in November 2024. (Balaji Ramamurthy via AP)

    Suchir Balaji, a former OpenAI engineer and whistleblower who helped train the artificial intelligence systems behind ChatGPT and later said he believed those practices violated copyright law, has died, according to his parents and San Francisco officials. He was 26.

    Balaji worked at OpenAI for nearly four years before quitting in August. He was well-regarded by colleagues at the San Francisco company, where a co-founder this week called him one of OpenAI's strongest contributors who was essential to developing some of its products.

    "We are devastated to learn of this incredibly sad news and our hearts go out to Suchir's loved ones during this difficult time," said a statement from OpenAI.

    Balaji was found dead in his San Francisco apartment on Nov. 26 in what police said "appeared to be a suicide. No evidence of foul play was found during the initial investigation." The city's chief medical examiner's office confirmed the manner of death to be suicide.

    His parents Poornima Ramarao and Balaji Ramamurthy said they are still seeking answers, describing their son as a "happy, smart and brave young man" who loved to hike and recently returned from a trip with friends.

    Balaji grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and first arrived at the fledgling AI research lab for a 2018 summer internship while studying computer science at the University of California, Berkeley. He returned a few years later to work at OpenAI, where one of his first projects, called WebGPT, helped pave the way for ChatGPT.

    "Suchir's contributions to this project were essential, and it wouldn't have succeeded without him," said OpenAI co-founder John Schulman in a social media post memorializing Balaji. Schulman, who recruited Balaji to his team, said what... Read More

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