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    Fox News tops ratings with Afghanistan coverage; Nielsen week in review

    By SHOOTUpdated:No Comments2012 Views
    In this image provided by the U.S. Air Force, a U.S. Air Force Airman guides evacuees aboard a U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, Aug. 24, 2021. (Senior Airman Taylor Crul/U.S. Air Force via AP)

    By Lynn Elber, Television Writer

    LOS ANGELES (AP) --

    Fox News Channel, bolstered by viewers' rapt attention to the U.S.-led evacuation from Afghanistan, was last week's most-watched TV outlet on broadcast or cable, according to Nielsen company figures out Tuesday.

    The channel averaged just under 3 million viewers. Fox News Channel outpaced both its cable news competition and the broadcast networks that typically jockey for the top spot.

    The channel, which is popular with conservative-leaning viewers, surged following the Taliban's sudden conquest of Afghanistan this month and as the Biden administration directed the chaotic removal of U.S. citizens and Afghans at risk after the nearly 20-year war's end.

    The last time the channel claimed the No. 1 spot was in September 2020, when "Fox News Sunday" anchor Chris Wallace moderated the debate between then-President Donald Trump and his ultimately successful challenger Joe Biden.

    MSNBC, which tends to attract liberal-leaning viewers, saw a slight ratings dip from the previous week, averaging just under 1.2 million viewers compared to 1.29 million. CNN rose 20.6%, averaging 943,00 viewers vs. the prior week's 782,000.

    Fox News Channel, which averaged 2.94 million viewers, was followed by broadcaster CBS with 2.57 million. NBC had 2.53 million, ABC had 2.39 million, Fox had 1.38 million, Univision had 1.28 million, Ion Television had 1.12 million and Telemundo had 1.04 million.

    Other top cable performers included HGTV with 1.11 million and TLC with 1.04 million.

    ABC's "World News Tonight" led the evening news ratings race, with an average of 8 million viewers last week. NBC's "Nightly News" was second with 6.5 million and the "CBS Evening News" had 4.8 million.

    For the week of Aug. 16-22, the 20 most-watched programs, their networks and viewerships:

    1. "America's Got Talent" (Tuesday), NBC, 6.9 million.
    2. "60 Minutes Presents," CBS, 5.98 million.
    3. "America's Got Talent" (Wednesday), NBC, 5.74 million.
    4. "Hannity" (Tuesday), Fox News Channel, 4.82 million.
    5. "Celebrity Family Feud," ABC, 4.75 million.
    6. "America's Funniest Home Videos," ABC, 4.3 million.
    7. "Big Brother" (Thursday), CBS, 4.05 million.
    8. "Tucker Carlson Tonight" (Monday), Fox News Channel, 4.04 million.
    9. "Big Brother" (Sunday), CBS, 3.9 million.
    10. "The Chase," ABC, 3.86 million.
    11. "Big Brother" (Wednesday), CBS, 3.8 million.
    12. "Tucker Carlson Tonight" (Tuesday), Fox News Channel, 3.76 million.
    13. "Hannity" (Wednesday), Fox News Channel, 3.74 million.
    14. "Tucker Carlson Tonight" (Wednesday), Fox News Channel, 3.63 million.
    15. "Hannity" (Monday), Fox News Channel, 3.55 million.
    16. "American Ninja Warrior," NBC, 3.54 million.
    17. "The $100,000 Pyramid," ABC, 3.53 million.
    18. "NCIS," CBS, 3.47 million.
    19. "Tucker Carlson Tonight" (Thursday), Fox News Channel, 3.45 million.
    20. "Tucker Carlson Tonight" (Friday), Fox News Channel, 3.33 million.

    Tags:Fox NewsNielsen



    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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