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| Lester Holt |
But, according to Politico On Media blog new information complicates the ratings picture: In early February, around the time of Williams' suspension, NBC News began rebroadcasting "Nightly News" in select markets between 2 and 4 a.m. The network has included these numbers in its total ratings report, spokespeople from both NBC News and Nielsen confirmed, and this has allowed them to boost their total audience.
There isn't necessarily any foul play here: Laura Nelson, the chief communications officer for Nielsen, said that what NBC was doing was standard practice in the television industry. "They are operating within their guidelines," she said. Moreover, television ratings are often convoluted by the networks' use of varying metrics. Every network, including NBC's competitors, uses different tricks to spin the numbers to its advantage.
What's notable in this case, however, is that NBC News began rebroadcasting the program the week of Feb. 2, the same week that Williams apologized for false claims he had made about his experiences in Iraq. It began by rebroadcasting in just one market, but added an additional three markets the following week -- which was the week that WIlliams was suspended for six months without pay.
Since then, NBC News has been adding markets week by week. The half-hour show is now being rebroadcast in Atlanta, Denver, Minneapolis, Seattle and at least half a dozen other major urban areas, according to a source with knowledge of the broadcast agreement. Viewers watching "Nightly" at that hour are included in the Nielsen totals. Nightly's competitors, ABC's "World News" and CBS's "Evening News", do not rebroadcast.
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