According to preliminary Nielsen data, the Brian Williams interview with Edward Snowden averaged 5.91 million viewers in the 10pm hour last night. (By comparison, Williams’ “Nightly News” has been averaging about 8.4 million viewers a night.)
The special was #1 in the A18-49 and A25-54 demos and #2 in viewers behind a repeat of “CSI:” on CBS. The hour-long special built on its lead-in (a repeat of “Last Comic Standing) by +48%. And the special added viewers from its first half hour to its second. Compared to the same night last year, the Snowden special improved the time period by +57% (+2,143,000) in total viewers. Final numbers will be released after 4pmET. As for why Snowden chose NBC for his first broadcast TV interview, here’s what he told Williams: