Oprah Winfrey’s special “OWN Spotlight: Where Do We Go From Here?” drew 10.9 million TV viewers across 17 Discovery, Inc.-owned networks. That linear viewer tally counts both the initial 9 p.m. airings of Part 1 on Tuesday and Part 2 on Wednesday, plus repeats, according to Live + Same Day data from Nielsen.
Together, the two live simulcasts combined to reach 7.3 million unique viewers. To date, the special has added 6.7 million via views on YouTube and Facebook, racking up a total of 17.6 million viewers across all platforms.
Per Discovery, “The special featured Oprah Winfrey as she spoke directly with a range of Black thought leaders, activists and artists about systematic racism and the current state of America. The in-depth conversations offered insights and tangible plans to answer the questions “What matters now?” “What matters next?” and “Where do we go from here?”
Guests included politician Stacey Abrams, journalist Charles M. Blow; Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms; Academy award-nominated filmmaker and founder of ARRAY Ava DuVernay (“When They See Us,” “13th”, “Queen Sugar”), professor and author Jennifer Eberhardt (author of “Biased”); Pulitzer Prize winner of The 1619 Project Nikole Hannah-Jones; historian and author Ibram Kendi (“How to be an Anti-Racist”), award-winning actor David Oyelowo (“Selma”), Color of Change president Rashad Robinson; and co-chair of The Poor People’s Campaign and president of Repairers of the Breach Reverend William J. Barber II.
Resources and organizations discussed on the special are available on Oprah.com/OWNSpotlight.
According to Nielsen, the gross national rating for Part 1 and Part 2 of the special combined was a 3.01 rating among total viewers, 2.89 in adults 25-54 and a 3.46 for women in that age group. Among African American viewers, the simulcasts delivered a 7.55 gross national rating.
The two-night special aired across 17 Discovery, Inc. nets, including OWN, Discovery, Food Network, Cooking Channel, HGTV, DIY, ID, Travel Channel, TLC, Science Channel, Animal Planet, MotorTrend, plus online partner NowThis. “Where Do We Go From Here?” streamed for free on the Watch OWN and Discovery Family TVE apps, as well as OWN’s Youtube, Facebook and Instagram channels.
“OWN Spotlight: Where Do We Go From Here” was produced by Winfrey’s OWN, with Winfrey and Tara Montgomery executive producing.
18 New Summer TV Shows Ranked by Premiere Viewers, From 'Tough as Nails' to 'United We Fall' (Photos)
With all due respect to "America's Got Talent," summer is not exactly the time when Nielsen ratings threaten to fall off the charts -- at least, not the top of the charts. And when it comes to new series, a summer slot isn't generally a vote of confidence from the network.
Due to coronavirus-forced production shutdowns, Summer 2020 has been an especially soft season. Click through our gallery to see how 18 freshman broadcast television shows -- some acquisitions -- fared in total viewers for their premieres this summer.
Rank: 9 Show: "Celebrity Watch Party" Net: Fox Total Viewers: 1.785 million
Fox
Rank: 8 Show: "The Bachelor: The Greatest Seasons - Ever!" Net: ABC Total Viewers: 2.412 million
ABC
Rank: 7 Show: "Cannonball"* Net: NBC Total Viewers: 2.655
*Network debut of USA Network series
NBC
Rank: 6 Show: "The Genetic Detective" Net: ABC Total Viewers: 3.264 million
ABC
Rank: 5 Show: "Tough as Nails" Net: CBS Total Viewers: 4.096 million
CBS
Rank: 4 Show: "Don't" Net: ABC Total Viewers: 4.178 million
ABC
Rank: 3 Show: "United We Fall" Net: ABC Total Viewers: 4.235 million
ABC
Rank: 2 Show: "Ultimate Tag" Net: Fox Total Viewers: 4.351 million
Fox
Rank: 1 Show: "Game On!" Net: CBS Total Viewers: 4.437 million
CBS
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Nielsen sheets cooled off as the months warmed up
With all due respect to "America's Got Talent," summer is not exactly the time when Nielsen ratings threaten to fall off the charts -- at least, not the top of the charts. And when it comes to new series, a summer slot isn't generally a vote of confidence from the network.
Due to coronavirus-forced production shutdowns, Summer 2020 has been an especially soft season. Click through our gallery to see how 18 freshman broadcast television shows -- some acquisitions -- fared in total viewers for their premieres this summer.