Last night's airing of Oprah Winfrey's highly anticipated interview with Lance Armstong about his tragic tale of drugs and lies proved to be a homerun for OWN.
The Oprah Winfrey Network has been suffering from a lack of viewership ever since its launch in 2011, however the interview scored loads of media attention, viewers and reaffirmed that the reigning talk show Queen hasn't lost her touch.
According to Nielsen, approximately 3.2 million viewers tuned into the 90-minute special which aired at 9 p.m. ET/PT, while an additional 1.1 million watched a repeat at 10:30 pm. Part two of the Oprah and Lance Armstrong: The Worldwide Exclusive will air Friday night.
Live Streaming
The live online streaming for Friday can be found at this location.
The Interview
During the sit-down interview, the shamed cyclist admitted to doping to win races starting in the mid 1990s. "I viewed [taking drugs] as very simple-oxygen-boosting drugs that were incredibly beneficial for performance sports. And that's all you needed. My cocktail was only EPO-not a lot, transfusions and testosterone," he told the billionaire TV host.
Since last week, media has been buzzing around Oprah's exclusive one-on-one with Armstrong who confessed to cheating during throughout his cycling career. As a result, the network's rating soared last night, increasing advertising revenue for the network and helping surge Oprah back into news headlines.
Oprah was also praised for digging into the interview with respect and skill. "Freaking Oprah is bringing it," said Sports Illustrated's Richard Dietsch via Twitter. "Oprah is doing a remarkable job," tweeted ESPN's Don Van Natta, Jr. "Simple, direct questions. She has done her homework. And she's getting out of the way."
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