TV

As family and friends said a final farewell to Whitney Houston last weekend, millions of fans watched the event.

Houston was eulogized and praised during a four-hour service at her childhood church in Newark, New Jersey.

WABC/Channel 7 and WNBC/Channel 4 were the only broadcast stations covering the funeral. Other outlets, including

WCBS/Channel 2, offered the complete proceedings on their website. At its height of online coverage, according to its site, Channel 2 had more than 180,000 people watching the live video.

As for the traditional viewing,  Channel 7 registered an estimated 560,000 viewers. At the peak of the coverage, in the final 15 minutes, WABC notched 750,000.

WNBC averaged 235,000 mourners for their many hours on the air.

CNN also brought the Houston funeral to fans, with 374,000 people watching.

Houston, 48, died in her Beverly Hills hotel room February 11.

We already knew that Diddy and Comcast struck a deal for the mogul to launch his music channel, Revolt, but now another high profile celebrity is getting a chance. The Wall Street Journal reports that Earvin “Magic” Johnson will launch “Aspire,” a general interest channel targeting the African-American community, sometime this year.

Johnson said Aspire will feature original programming, movies and shows. The addition of Johnson’s channel is part of Comcast’s mission to launch 10 minority-owned networks within the next 10 years.

In typical Johnson fashion, he insisted that one of his goals for the channel is to provide as many opportunities for African-American’s in the entertainment business as possible.

You’ve got to love him; he hasn’t played ball in forever but the assists continue to rack up.

Let the Linsanity officially begin!

TVSpy: When audio drops out on Dwayne Johnson, a.k.a. The Rock promoting Wrestlemedia, it was the local anchor to the rescue!

FishbowlLA: A Pulitizer Prize winning New York Times reporter dies in Syria. Anthony Shadid was just 43 years old.

TVNewser: The Jeremy Lin experience has spilled onto MSNBC. The cable network has unveiled a promo characterizing the exploits of the Knicks’ new point guard.

Here’s a look at what FishbowlNY stories made the most buzz this week.

1. New York Times Photographer Wins World Press Photo of the Year, February 10
2. New York Post Defends Greg Kelly (left) Coverage, February 13
3. XXL Staffers Suspended Over Offensive Video, February 16
4. People Rated Strongest Magazine Brand Among Advertisers, February 14
5. The New York Observer Refers to Greg Kelly as ‘Rape Stud,‘ February 10
6. Orgs to Newsweek: Stop F-ing Up, February 13

Keep up-to-date with the latest FishbowlNY news. Click here to sign-up for the FishbowlNY daily newsletter, bringing you our articles each afternoon directly to your inbox.

Nick Cannon gave his NOW FM/WXRK listeners a surprise this morning. It was the versatile performer’s final day hosting his radio show.

Cannon,  suffering from various health concerns in recent months, plus a hospital stay necessitated by a mild kidney failure, told his audience that he needs time to get better. Reports say Cannon, who at night hosts America’s Got Talent on NBC, was rushed back to the hospital last week for blood clots on his lungs.

The 31-year old will spend more time with his nine-month old twins, and his wife, Mariah Carey.

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Whether it was smacking a clutch hit down the line, throwing out a runner at second base, or simply that endearing smile, Gary Carter was a gift to baseball fans for more than two decades. But to New York Mets fans, his legendary career took on a heroic note. Carter died yesterday after a long battle with brain cancer. He was 57.

“I choose to celebrate a life that touched and brightened so many other lives through his works both on and off the field,” Longtime WABC sports anchor Scott Clark tells FishbowlNY. “Baseball players respected and admired his skills and his grit. Members of the media craved for more like him, always available, win or lose.”

A blockbuster trade after the 1984 season sent Carter to Shea Stadium, and the New York media. Less than two years later, Carter helped the Mets win one of the “amazing” comebacks in World Series history.

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Matt Alvarez, known to viewers for his freelance reporting on WNYW/Channel 5 and sister station WWOR/Channel 9 since April 2010, is joining WWOR’s The Ten O’Clock News as a full-time general assignment reporter.

He’ll contribute to the nightly newscast based in New Jersey and anchored by Harry Martin and Brenda Blackmon.

WWOR news director Jim Driscoll said in a statement, “Matt has done a stellar job on reporting relevant issues affecting tri-state area residents and we are thrilled to offer him this opportunity. From hard-hitting investigative  reports to human interest stories, he has demonstrated a tremendous connection with our viewers.”

Prior to joining Fox in New York, Alvarez was a reporter at TV stations in Columbus, Ohio and Grand Junction, Colorado.

With 57 nominations, MSG Network leads the pack at the New York Emmy Awards. WNBC/Channel 4 tops the over-the-air outlets with 50 nods.

A look at some of the nominations for the April 1st gala:

For Best Morning Newscast, the nominees include WNYW/Channel 5′s Good Day New York, WNBC’s Today in New York, WABC/Channel 7, and WPIX/Channel 11, which had 36 nominations overall.

For newscast of 35 minutes or less, Spanish stations WXTV/41 notched four nominations, while Channel 47/WNJU had one. The other nomination goes to WNBC, for the death of Osama bin Laden.

In the longer newscast category, WPIX and WCBS had two nods each. WABC and WNYW also are recognized.

For breaking news, WCBS is nominated for the Yonkers scaffold rescue. WCBS was chosen for coverage of the Brooklyn boy’s murder. WNBC is showcased for Hurricane Irene, while WNYW gets the nod for reporting on a tornado touching down in New York.

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Despite the pall over the proceedings Sunday night, the Grammy Awards enjoyed a big night. Early into the three-and-a-half hour telecast, host LL Cool J led a prayer for Whitney Houston who shockingly passed away the night before.  

In the last hour, Jennifer Hudson “eulogized” her idol with one of Houston’s signature songs, I Will Always Love You.

The show was number one with 3.7 million WCBS/Channel 2 viewers and a huge 19 rating, according to Nielsen. 

American Idol began Hollywood Week at number two and three. The two nights averaged 1.3 million WNYW/Channel 5 viewers and a 6.8 rating.  

NBC’s rival, The Voice, had a fifth-place finish (1.1 million/6.0).

60 Minutes had its typical good week at number four (1.2 million/6.3).

More from the Top 10 after the jump

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