Tuning In to TV

Obama’s bin Laden speech nets 56.5 million viewers

Despite the late hour in the East, President Obama’s speech announcing the death of Osama bin Laden had an audience of 56.5 million viewers, according to the Associated Press.

The Nielsen Co. said Sunday’s audience was larger than Mr. Obama’s recent prime-time addresses, including his March 28 speech on Libya. The Wall Street Journal reported that Nielsen said it was Mr. Obama’s biggest audience since election night in 2008. On that night, about 70 million people were watching election coverage during the period that included Mr. Obama’s speech.

Sunday’s audience is evidence of how quickly word spread and the level of interest in the story no matter the hour. Mr. Obama did not begin speaking until 11:35 p.m. on the East Coast. The speech was carried on ABC, CBS, NBC, Telemundo, Univision, CNN, Fox News, HLN and MSNBC.

Oprah Winfrey inducted in Illinois hall of fame

Oprah Winfrey is now a member of the Illinois Broadcasters Association Hall of Fame, the Associated Press reports.

Film critic Roger Ebert was among those who honored the talk-show queen Tuesday at a downtown Chicago hotel. Association President and CEO Dennis Lyle called Miss Winfrey “the epitome of broadcasting excellence.” Mr. Ebert already is a member, along with late partner Gene Siskel.

Miss Winfrey came to Chicago in 1984 when she started hosting “A.M. Chicago” on WLS-TV. That show eventually became “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” which will end this month after 25 years.

Other famous hall-of-fame inductees include Paul Harvey, Hugh Downs and Charles Gibson.

Aldean, Lady Antebellum to perform at CMT awards

Country star Jason Aldean is not only the top nominee at this year’s CMT Music Awards, he’ll also be performing.

Fellow nominees Lady Antebellum, Keith Urban, Rascal Flatts and Sugarland also are among the first performers announced for the show, according to the Associated Press.

This marks the 10th anniversary of the fan-voted awards show. It will air live June 8 from Nashville, Tenn. Fans can pick their favorites on CMT.com through June 7.

Mr. Aldean has four nominations, including a nod for video of the year. Lady Antebellum, Rascal Flatts and Sugarland have three nominations each and are competing against Mr. Aldean for the top prize. Mr. Urban is up for two awards, including male video of the year and CMT performance of the year.

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