Nicole Richie Beats Paris Hilton Thanks To Free TV

Nicole Richie didn’t just get a briefer jail term than Paris Hilton, she got bigger ratings, too.

Friday’s 20/20, featuring a Diane Sawyer grilling of the cell-bound Simple Life star (that would be Richie not Hilton), averaged 5.9 million people who just couldn’t help themselves, per Nielsen Media Research stats.

Back in June, Hilton’s postjail sitdown on Larry King Live averaged 3.2 million.

In truth, though, there is no comparing the Richie and Hilton numbers. The Richie interview aired on free TV (ABC); the Hilton one on basic cable (CNN).

Hilton reportedly could have had access to the broadcast airwaves, too, but deals with ABC and NBC broke down, leaving her to discuss her spiritual life with Larry King.

[edited]

Sunday’s Simple Life fifth-season finale averaged 650,000, a long way from the 13 million the series premiered before back in 2003 when it aired on, yes, free TV.

eonline.com

Season Five premiered with more than a million viewers. 13 million viewers was on FOX. As pointed it out, it was on free tv. E! could never achieve 10 million viewers, which is perfectly normal; a million viewers is heaven for E!

From: Trevor
Time: August 7, 2007, 10:27 pm

Honestly, I found Nicole’s interview much more intriguing than Paris’s. The questions asked for Paris were so crappy.