Whitney Houston, Oprah Net Historic Ratings

Date: 09/16/09 | Newsroom
Filed under: Hollywood, Whitney Houston, Oprah

Oprah Winfrey's lauded connection with Whitney Houston has translated into a stellar kick off for the Daytime diva's 24th season.

According to Nielsen, Winfrey's two-day broadcast of an anticipated exclusive interview with returning diva Whitney Houston ranked 45% higher than the launch of her 23rd season this time last year.

Beyond that however, ratings from Monday and Tuesday's broadcast earned Oprah her highest viewership in two years.

"Monday's 24th season premiere of "The Oprah Winfrey Show" -- which featured a heavily hyped interview with Whitney Houston -- notched an 8.0 rating/12 share in Nielsen's metered market overnight ratings. That's the highest single-day rating for "Oprah" in nearly two years, and up a healthy 45 percent over last season's premiere," reports WRAP.

During the anticipated and heavily watched broadcast Houston shed light on her tumultuous marriage to Bobby Brown; the death and life of Michael Jackson; her own drug-abuse; and finally returning to music with "I Look to You".

Closing the two-part interview out with a performance of "I Didn't Know My Own Strength," Houston told Oprah this is it -- essentially proclaiming that this interview is the end of her discussion of her marriage, drug related troubles and effective past.

Houston's new album "I Look To You" drops 1-3 on the Billboard 200 albums chart this week. It has sold over 388,000 copies since its release August 31.