ABC’s chat with Houston climbs charts

Continuing ABC News’ string of high-rated celebrity interviews, Whitney Houston’s appearance on a special “Primetime” drew an estimated 21.3 million viewers Wednesday -- the biggest audience for a prime-time newsmagazine since Connie Chung grilled embattled congressman Gary Condit on the same program more than a year ago.

Tune-in for the interview, in which Diane Sawyer spoke to the singer about erratic behavior and drug use, eclipsed ratings for recent discussions with the Osbournes and Jennifer Lopez, which both drew roughly 15 million viewers -- albeit against original episodes of “Law & Order” -- during November. ABC also beat the combined rating for a “West Wing” rerun and “The Amazing Race” in that hour.

Among the young-adult viewers advertisers crave, it was the most watched newsmagazine program since Monica Lewinsky spoke to Barbara Walters in 1999, according to Nielsen Media Research data.

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Brian Lowry