The London Olympics easily won the week for WNBC, despite the flood of complaints the network received about its handling of the prime time, tape-delayed coverage.

The seven days included in the weekly survey by Nielsen, earned the Top 7 spots, blowing away the competition in the process.

Proving the popularity of women’s gymnastics, the number one Olympics installment was last Thursday night. American Gabby Douglas became the first African-American gold medalist in the All-Around, and an estimated 2.5 million WNBC viewers watched with an impressive 12.9 rating.

Hardly a drop-off on the other nights, as Tuesday, July 31 yielded 2.4 million viewers and a 12.5 rating.

In the remaining positions, prime time coverage hosted by Bob Costas, averaged more than 1.9 million viewers and a 9.9 rating.

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NBC’s summer staple America’s Got Talent exploded with the best two showings of the week. The episodes averaged 583,000 WNBC viewers and a 3.0 rating, according to Nielsen.

Univision’s Channel 41 made a rare appearance in the Top 3. Tied at number two was a live edition of the popular Premios Juventud. The three-hour broadcast had a 560,000 viewers and a 2.9 rating.

Also in second place was ABC’s The Bachelorette. The Sunday night wrap-up special pulled in 559,000 fans of the reality “drama” and a 2.9. The Bachelorette finale from earlier in the evening was sixth, captivating an estimated 510,000 WABC viewers to find out who would accept the final rose. It had a 2.6 rating.

The Bachelorette episode from the week before landed in fifth place with 518,000 viewers and a 2.7 rating for a fifth place showing.

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With the influx of radio layoffs, the opposite is occurring at Telemundo’s Channel 47/WNJU. The Daily News reports, the Spanish language station is preparing to launch a new public affairs show Enfoque Nueva York (Focus on New York) November 6 at 11 p.m.

The changes come at Channel 47 amid a new management team, and Comcast having recently acquired station owner NBC Universal.

In case you missed any of our special feature 9/11: New York Remembers, today we’re observing the 10th anniversary of the tragic day linking back to the entire series.

• After an introduction, we began on August 19 with the memories of famed anchors Ernie Anastos, Bill Ritter, and Chuck Scarborough.
• On Monday, August 22, we returned with one-time WABC/Channel 7 reporter Jeff Rossen describing the horrific scene at ground zero.
• Longtime WINS reporter John Montone had his own struggles dealing with the disaster.
• On August 24, we offered the account of two veteran NY1 reporters.
• Tom Kaminski, well-known to WCBS-AM listeners for his chopper reporting, was in the air during 9/11.
• Another well-known radio personality is Harry Harrison who, with his familiar style, was an important part of the healing process.

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For more than 40 years, Rafael Pineda has been the popular evening anchor on Univision’s Channel 41/WXTV.

Pineda (pronounced Pin-yay-da) says he started at Spanish station WXTV in 1968, the year that the station signed on. He is the longest tenured anchor in New York City history (Chuck Scarborough is second, with WNBC since 1974). 

Just like his fellow evening cohorts at other stations (discussed in our opening installment), Pineda woke up to the dramatic first reports of a crisis at the World Trade Center.

“I was still asleep, but my wife was [up early] to take the kids to school,” Pineda says. “She was watching TV and all of a sudden she woke me up and said, ‘The plane crashed into one of the [twin] towers.’”

Pineda leapt out of bed and watched the news coverage, as the north tower smoldered.

The legendary TV news personality was in the majority believing that it was a freak accident. That is until 9:03 a.m.

“All of a sudden I witness when the second plane hit the other tower,” Pineda says. “I said to myself, ‘This is not a coincidence, we are under attack.’”

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As we meander through the summer, viewership is typically altered. But 60 Minutes had no problems grabbing ratings. The venerable newsmagazine was number one, according to the Nielsen Company. The broadcast had 751,000 WCBS/Channel 2 viewers with a 3.7 rating.

On WNBC/Channel 4, a two-hour episode of America’s Got Talent was number two (623,000/3.1).

Yankee Baseball on the YES Network was third (556,000/2.8) from July 21. Several other games cracked the  Top 20.

A pair of games tied for number 13 –July 18 on YES (473,000/2.3) and July 19 on WWOR/Channel 9 (468,000/2.3).

A July 20th Yankee game on YES was number 20 (416,000/2.1).

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Veteran journalist Adriana Vargas has joined WXTV/Channel 41. Beginning August 15, she’ll team with legendary Univision anchor Rafael Pineda for the 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. newscasts.

“We are pleased to count with Adriana’s journalism experience and credibility to continue delivering a high-quality newscast to our viewers in the tri-state area. She shares our commitment of informing our community with the news they’ve come to expect,” said Norma Morato, WXTV news director.

Vargas most recently served as the official spokesperson and director of international media for the President of Colombia, Juan Manuel Santos.

A native of Colombia, with more than 14 years of experience in journalism, Vargas has reported on major news events and stories including Latin America’s political crisis, several U.S. elections and the Hurricane Katrina aftermath.

At it’s annual dinner the New York State Broadcasters Association distributed Awards for Excellence in Broadcasting.

WCBS/Channel 2 was the big winner last night among New York City television stations, with five honors.

WCBS won awards for Outstanding Spot News (CBS 2 News at 11: Gas Explosion), Outstanding Hard News Story (Staten Island Bias Attacks), Outstanding Feature News Story (Robo-Tripping), Outstanding Locally Originated Newscast (CBS 2 News at 11: Tornados Hit NYC), and Outstanding Sportscast (Road to Glory: Feud in Foxborough).

WXTV, the Univisión owned-and-operated Channel 41, earned a nod for Outstanding Promotion Announcement or Series (X-Final), while WPIX/Channel 11, won for Outstanding Locally Produced TV Show (PIX Presents 2011 N.Y. International Auto Show).

A look at the radio winners after the jump

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WNBC’s favorite season might be the summer, as America’s Got Talent won the week in ratings released by the Nielsen Company.

Talent had an estimated 774,000 viewers and a 3.8 rating.

NBC’s other talent competition–The Voice–landed at number four in New York (647,000/3.2).

If Dancing is your thing, Fox’s So You Think You Can Dance was number two (692,000/3.4). The results show had a fifth-place showing (584,000/2.9).

ESPN shot to number three thanks to Interleague play, specifically the Yankees and Cubs at Wrigley Field (663,000/3.3).

A pair of Yankee games on the YES Network tied for 11th. Matchups against the Indians and Rangers scored with an average 480,000 viewers and a 2.4 rating.

A Yankee game on WWOR/Channel 9 was seventh (515,000/2.6).

WNBC also got high marks from game seven of Stanley Cup Finals–with a sixth-place showing (540,000/2.7).

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Nominations for the 54th Annual New York Emmy Awards were announced yesterday.

WNBC tops the list among over-the-air stations with 48 nominations. WPIX was next with 33 nods, while WABC received 27 nominations.

WCBS was recognized 19 times. Fox 5/WNYW got 14 nominations, Thirteen/WNET earned 8 nominations. My9/WWOR picked up a pair of nominations.

Examining the nominations further, among those recognized in the Best Morning Newscast category: WPIX (twice) for PIX Morning News, and WNBC (twice).

Daytime Newscast: Eyewitness News at Noon (WABC), anchors Lori Stokes and Ken Rosato.

Best Evening Newscast Under 35 Minutes: WCBS (for the 8th Anniversary of 9/11) with anchors Chris Wragge and Kristine Johnson, and WNBC, are part of the six nominees.

Best Evening Newscast Over 35 Minutes:  Among the five nominees, WNBC, WPIX, and WCBS (twice).

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