OWN's Armstrong Interview Drops in Second Airing

Winfrey sit-down draws 1.8 million total viewers on Friday

By Andrea Morabito -- Broadcasting & Cable, 1/22/2013 4:54:03 PM

Part two of Oprah Winfrey's exclusive interview with disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong drew far fewer viewers than part one, averaging 1.8 million total viewers on Jan. 25 at 9 p.m. on OWN, according to Nielsen.

That was a decrease of 44% from the 3.2 million who tuned in to watch Armstrong's initial confession on a special episode of Oprah's Next Chapter on Jan. 24, where he first admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs.

The episode still ranked as the fourth most-watched Oprah's Next Chapter, however, beating Winfrey's interview with pastor Joel Osteen, which drew 1.6 million viewers on Jan. 8, 2012. Only Whitney Houston's family interview, Rihanna and part one of the Armstrong sit-down had larger audiences.

Combined with the 11:30 p.m. replay, the episode was watched by a combined 2.4 million viewers.