Brown downer for CNBC
Episode down 67% from talkshow's Feb. 8 debut
Second installment of "Topic A With Tina Brown" averaged only 20,000 viewers -- too low for Nielsen to officially record with a rating. Instead, Nielsen Media Research will give the Feb. 15 episode what's known in the TV biz as a hash mark.
Episode was down 67% from the weekly talkshow's Feb. 8 debut, which averaged 60,000 viewers -- still not considered a strong number. Hourlong interview program airs at 8 p.m. ET.
Sunday's show, which also featured interviews with film director Jim Sheridan and evangelical personality Pat Robertson, also posted dismal numbers in the key news demo adults 25-54, averaging 6,000 viewers, down 86% from the previous week.
CNBC has been heavily promoting "Topic A," which first began as a quarterly show last year, averaging anywhere from 70,000 viewers to 200,000 viewers.
Deciding to develop more original primetime programming, the financial cable newsie decided to take Brown's show weekly.
As part of the same effort, NBC entertainment, news and cable prexy Jeff Zucker recruited comedian Dennis Miller to host a weeknight topical show on CNBC.
Miller's show is repeated on Sunday nights at 9 p.m. ET. This past Sunday, "Dennis Miller" averaged 187,000 total viewers and delivered 116,000 adults 25-54. At 10 p.m. ET, a repeat of NBC News' "Meet the Press With Tim Russert" averaged 220,000 total viewers and delivered 79,000 adults 25-54.
Miller's show, which bowed late last month, has been averaging 330,000 total viewers during the week.
This week, former NBC News "Today" exec producer Steve Friedman was dispatched to Los Angeles to consult for two months on Miller's show, which is produced by NBC Studios.
