ABC News is expanding its primetime 20/20 newsmagazine with a new series, Superstar, which will begin airing on ABC Aug. 11. Each episode of Superstar will profile a different celebrity “who shaped American culture,” according to the network. The first episode will profile Whitney Houston, and will include never-before-seen private videos of the singer, who died in 2012.
ABC News’ 20/20, anchored by David Muir and Amy Robach, won the broadcast season for the first time in five years, according to Nielsen Media Research ratings data. In total viewership since the season began on Sept. 21, 2020, 20/20 had a 3% lead on Dateline, but the lead was greater in the advertiser-coveted age demographics. In the 18-49 demo, the 9 p.m. ET show was up by 25% while in the 25-54 range, its lead was 17%.
Janice Johnston is only the fourth person to lead the show in its 40-plus years. She’s the first woman and the first Black producer to hold the job. Above, Johnston (l) with ABC News’ Robin Roberts.
ABC News is promoting 20/20 Senior Producer Janice Johnston to the role of executive producer. She will be just the fourth person to lead 20/20 as executive producer in nearly 43 years.
NEW YORK (AP) — ABC News’ Diane Sawyer is reprising her interview with Caitlyn Jenner, with the former Olympic gold medalist slated to talk about her first couple of years […]
Exclusives
Former Fox News host Gretchen Carlson, who filed that first sexual harassment lawsuit against former Fox News chief Roger Ailes, will be interviewed by ABC News’s 20/20 for a full hour on the subject of sexual harassment. It airs on Friday.
Former Fox News anchor Gretchen Carlson is set for 20/20 on November 18, marking her first television interview since the Roger Ailes debacle.
Nielsen said 16.9 million people watched Friday’s 20/20 interview with Bruce Jenner in which the former Olympian told ABC’s Diane Sawyer about his transition into becoming a woman. Nielsen Social also estimated that there were 972,000 tweets sent Friday night about the Jenner interview.
Friday on 20/20, ABC aired a Brian Ross investigation called “Recall Roulette.” The story is about what ABC is calling the “flawed government recall system” and may seem familiar to some local viewers. Pieces were used as part of a partnership with the investigative teams of 17 ABC affiliates.
The news divisions of the big three broadcasters dominated prime time Saturday night. 20/20 at 10pmET/PT was the night’s No. 1 show drawing 5.51 million viewers, and a 1.1 A18-49 rating, more than doubling CBS’s 48 Hours in the time period in viewers and in the demo.
Programs on the life and legacy of Nelson Mandela will take their place in ABC and CBS’ primetime lineups this weekend, but there won’t be any changes to their schedules, they will air on 20/20 and 48 Hours, respectively.
After an Orange County (Calif.) Superior Court judge ruled earlier this year there was no merit in the attempt by ABC News to kill a libel lawsuit about a sensational, 2011 Internet-dating-scam broadcast by 20/20, the network has agreed to settle with the plaintiff.
The partnership will bring ABC News and entertainment programming to Clear Channel’s new iHeartRadio Talk feature. The deal includes content from ABC News, Nightline, 20/20, This Week with George Stephanopoulos, Good Morning America, Jimmy Kimmel Live and The View.
David Williams, presented by 20/20 as an Internet predator, has “adequately demonstrated that ABC failed to use reasonable care in determining the truth or falsity of the statements before publishing them.”
Following Chirs Cuomo’s exit to CNN, ABC News confirms that the correspondent will join Elizabeth Vargas at the desk.
’20/20′ Lifts ABC To Best Friday In Months
20/20‘s highly touted interview with Bernie Madoff’s daughter-in-law, Stephanie Madoff Mack, led ABC to its best Friday night in 10 months. The network tied for No. 1 on the night with CBS, both averaging a 1.6 adults 18-49 rating and 5 share. 20/20 was the night’s highest-rated show, averaging a 2.1 at 10 p.m.
By halting production on the eighth season of Two and a Half Men, CBS Corp. and Warner Bros. are turning away from a proven hit with both viewers and advertisers.
