Ratings are in for NY1’s two-and-a-half hour live coverage of this past Friday’s memorial service for Luther Vandross: The event drew a 1.2 rating, a whopping figure for the station in the afternoon time slot.
The all-star sendoff–featuring Aretha Franklin, Dionne Warwick and Stevie Wonder–was seen by an average of about 89,200 households, with a peak around 104,700 households.
For the same time period the previous week, NY1 had scored a rating of 0.2, meaning about 14,000 households. Head to head, the memorial beat NBC’s Starting Over, which got a 1.1 rating.
NY1 spokesperson Edward Pachetti said the last time he could remember ratings that high was during last year’s transit strike threat.
A rebroadcast of the service at 3 p.m. Saturday received a 1.1, meaning it was seen in some 77,300 households, with a peak of 115,000.
Despite the ratings success, NY1 has no plans for another airing of the service. The station has recieved approximately 400 requests for video and DVD copies of the program. Fans seeking a copy should send an e-mail to library@ny1news.com. The price for a VHS or DVD dub is $65.
–Rebecca Dana
