Berkus Scores for Oprah
King World's The Oprah Winfrey Show garnered a 10.7/22 overnight household rating/share (primary runs only) with the Jan. 17 show featuring designer Nate Berkus and his harrowing tale of surviving last month's tsunami disaster. That is the show's highest mark of the season, including the ratings-buster premiere in which Winfrey gave away more than 800 brand-new cars. The program gathered a 7.8/18 rating, counting all runs. Besides Berkus' moving story, Oprah's ratings were likely helped by the Martin Luther King holiday, which meant more people were home from work watching television.
Huntsberry Fills in at Universal Pictures
Frederick Huntsberry, executive vice president, NBC Universal Television Distribution, and CFO, NBC Universal Television Group, is stepping up to serve as interim president and COO of Universal Pictures while Rick Finkelstein recovers from a skiing accident, according to NBC Universal. Huntsberry will continue to oversee the company's syndication division, reporting jointly to Universal Pictures Chairman Stacey Snider and NBC Universal Television Group President Jeff Zucker.
NATPE Pays Tribute to Parise
The National Association of Television Program Executives is teaming with five other organizations to memorialize NATPE membership executive Brigette Parise, who died last year from multiple myeloma, or cancer of the plasma cells. NATPE, Entertainment Communications Network (ECN), Media DVX, the International Myeloma Foundation, Women in Film Los Angeles (WIF LA) and Vendely Communications are putting together a PSA about the disease. WIF LA will produce.
