NEWSMAKERS

NEWSMAKERS

Williams returns for pope coverage

NEW YORK

Brian Williams returned to the airwaves of MSNBC to anchor coverage of the visit of Pope Francis to the United States on Tuesday, his first day back at work after his suspension from NBC News and demotion for misleading viewers about his role in news stories.

Dressed in a suit and blue striped tie, Williams was all business, and no initial mention was made of his absence. He opened the 3 p.m. hour on the news network, stationed in a Manhattan studio.

He introduced NBC White House correspondent Chris Jansing, at the airport where the pope was due to arrive, for a report, followed by short interviews with Maria Shriver and Jose Diaz-Balart.

Although Williams won’t have a regular daily show on MSNBC, he’s expected to anchor during busy news periods a couple of times a week.

Big audience for ‘Sabado Gigante’ finale

NEW YORK

Nearly twice as many people as usually watched the Spanish-language television institution “Sabado Gigante” turned out for the show’s farewell on Univision after 53 years on the air.

The Nielsen company said that 3.4 million people saw host Don Francisco’s adios in the United States. The three-hour variety show, whose name translates to “giant Saturday” and is a mix of celebrity appearances and amateur talent contests, reached 1.9 million viewers on a typical Saturday this year. The finale was the show’s fourth-biggest audience ever in the U.S., with the top being 3.5 million for an episode in January 2005.

Football and the second Republican presidential debate dominated the week’s ratings, won by NBC on the strength of its Sunday night football game. That game also cut into viewing of the annual Emmy Awards, with 11.9 million viewers the smallest audience in the show’s televised history.

Associated Press