ABC News anchor Diane Sawyer‘s interview with Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and her husband former astronaut Mark Kelly was easily the top broadcast program at 10 PM according to Nielsen fast  national ratings. The “20/20″ special drew a 9.0 rating/10 share household rating and a 3.9 rating/9 share in the adults 25-54 demo. All told the “20/20″ special drew around 13.3 million total viewers.

Bolstered by an exclusive interview of its own, NBC’s “Rock Center” had what appeared to be its best-showing yet with a 3 rating/5 share household rating and a 1.6/4 in the demo. The program drew just shy of 4.5 million viewers–up 30% from last week–though final numbers can shift from the preliminaries. Not surprisingly, the first half-hour was the strongest for the NBC program.

ABC had the benefit of focusing the entire hour on Giffords, and had weeks to promote the special. NBC had just two hours to alert potential viewers to the Bob Costas interview of Jerry Sandusky.

> Update: TVbytheNumbers has adjusted, final ratings, with downward shifts for the two news programs, due, in part, to local broadcasts of ESPN’s Monday Night Football game.

Were you so busy last night watching the Green Bay Packers rout the Minnesota Vikings that you missed all of the big exclusive interviews at 10 PM? No worries, we have embedded the highlights below. Preliminary broadcast ratings for ABC and NBC will be in later this morning, while finals (including Fox News) will be available towards the end of the day.

Bob Costas‘ interview with former Penn State defensive coach Jerry Sandusky:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

A highlight from Diane Sawyer‘s interview with Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and her husband Mark Kelly:
Read more

Tonight at 10 PM news viewers have a veritable glut of exclusive interviews to choose from. NBC just announced that on “Rock Center,” Bob Costas has the first interview (via phone) with former Penn State coach Jerry Sandusky since he was indicted on charges of sexual abuse against young boys.

“I am innocent of those charges,” Sandusky tells Costas, before admitting that he did shower with and touch some young boys but “without intent of sexual contact.”

On ABC, Diane Sawyer has her much-hyped interview with Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and her husband Mark Kelly. The special–which will spill over into “Nightline,”–features home videos of Giffords’ recovery.

Finally, on Fox News Channel’s “On the Record,” Greta Van Susteren has her interview with Gloria Cain, the wife of GOP candidate Herman Cain. Her first since the sexual harassment charges were leveled against her husband.

Gymnast Alicia Sacramone has signed with Under Armour sports apparel, becoming the first gymnast to land an endorsement deal with the Baltimore, MD-based outfit. Sacramone, a member of the silver medal-winning U.S. Olympic team in 2008, is one of the most successful gymnasts in U.S. history and is currently tied for the highest career tally of World Championship medals for American gymnasts, including three golds, four silvers and two bronzes. She has been named USA Gymnastics’ Sportswoman of the Year four times.

“Alicia’s commitment to training and her determination to perform at the highest level makes her an inspiration to young athletes across the world and an ideal fit for the Under Armour Brand,” said Tori Hanna, director of women’s sports marketing for Under Armour. “While her numerous medals and accolades are a clear reflection of her talent, it is her indomitable spirit that sets her apart as a natural choice to become the first Under Armour athlete on the gymnastics floor.”

Sacramone joins other athletes who have signed with Under Armour, including swimmer Michael Phelps, skier Lindsey Vonn, women’s soccer player Lauren Cheney and New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady.

“I’m honored to join the Under Armour family, as Under Armour’s emphasis on training and its dedication to the next generation of athletes aligns perfectly with my core values,” said Sacramone. “I’ve always admired Under Armour apparel for its performance and style and now, to get the chance to work alongside such a high caliber of world champion athletes, it’s just an unbelievable opportunity.”

Sponsors Capital One and Castrol Edge will once again present the ESPY Awards from the Nokia Theatre at L.A. Live in Los Angeles.

Along with co-presenting the show, both companies will serve as co-presents of the nomination show, ESPY voting, and an individual award – the Capital One Cup, recognizing excellence in collegiate athletics, and the Castrol EDGE “NFL Strongest Performance” award.

EA Sports, Gatorade, GMC, Hennessy, MGD64 and SuperCuts return as associate sponsors and newcomers include Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Honey, K-Swiss, HP and 20th Century Fox.

The ESPY’s “Vault of Secrets” pre-party will once again be sponsored by Hennessy and MGD64 returns as presenting sponsor of the official ESPY’s Post Party.

The 2011 ESPY’s airs live July 13 at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN.

Dan Hoard has been named as the Cincinnati Bengals new radio play-by-play announcer, replacing Brad Johansen, who had held the position for the 11 years. Hoard is known among area fans for calling University of Cincinnati sports, which he will continue to do when it doesn’t conflict with Bengals work. He joins color commentator Dave Lapham, a 26-year veteran in the Bengals booth.

According to AllAccess.com, “The move is part of the Bengals’ revamp of their radio situation, including taking sales and operations in-house; the club has yet to announce its radio flagship for the coming season.”

You had to know Curt Schilling was going to have an opinion about the death of Osama bin Laden.

The former MLB pitcher and ESPN contributor called into the Dennis & Callahan morning radio show this morning in Boston to voice his anger at the U.S. government giving bin Laden a proper Muslim burial.

“I’m p—– because I can’t fathom why we would honor the Muslim traditions for a guy who Muslims have been telling us for 10 years doesn’t represent the true Muslim faith,” said Schilling. “And our government has been telling us the same thing. Who were they worried about offending? Radical Muslims? Because any true Muslim has told us for the last 10 years that the radicals like Osama bin Laden don’t represent them. It’s like calling Adolf Hitler a Christian.”

Sooooo … how about those Red Sox? Anyone?

Jaclyn Fujita, the wife of Cleveland Browns linebacker Scott Fujita, wrote a touching article for The Nation on the realities of being the wife of a pro football player.

Come to find out, it’s not as glamorous as one might think.

“My husband could have lost his life to a staph infection. His NFL doctors and trainers were heating/icing/stemming his knee for a bursa-sac rupture and ignoring all the major signs of infection, while his body was screaming that something else must be wrong. He ended up in an emergency operation weeks after symptoms began. Following five nights in hospital isolation and many weeks beating back the infection, he was ready to play for the city we love and a team we built our life around. He would help them win the coveted Super Bowl Championship. Less than a month later he would be gone, feeling completely expendable and replaceable as if his blood, sweat and tears did not matter. Read more

Molson Canadian and the NHL signed a deal that will make the brew the official and exclusive beer sponsor of the league for seven years starting with the 2011-2012 season.

“This partnership with Molson Coors and MillerCoors will be groundbreaking for the NHL and our fans,” John Collins, NHL chief operating officer, said in a release. “Molson Canadian is an iconic brand with a rich hockey heritage and Coors Light has a track record of connecting with sports fans in innovative and effective ways. The combination of unprecedented support of our clubs and TV rightsholders with activation across the NHL’s comprehensive portfolio of marketing and media assets will create great opportunities for both brands.”

(One interesting tidbit from the release: “According to a Simmons Market Research study, NHL fans are younger, more educated, more affluent, and access content through digital means more than any other sport.”)

The full note is after the jump.

Read more

The final numbers are in from Nielsen, and the “Sunday Night Football” matchup between the Green Bay Packers and New England Patriots drew 24.2 million viewers. Not surprisingly it was the top program on Sunday night in total viewers and all the key demographics.

It was the 10th “SNF” game to surpass 20 million viewers this season, and the fifth most-watched “SNF” game of all time.

Not surprisingly, the top markets were Milwaukee and Boston, where the game drew over a 40 rating/60 share.