Pregnant Man Scores Ratings Highs for Oprah
The Oprah Winfrey Show Thursday, April 3, Scores 6.5 Rating/17 Share Primary Weighted Household Average
By Paige Albiniak -- Broadcasting & Cable, 4/8/2008 4:47:00 PM
A highly-publicized episode of CBS’ The Oprah Winfrey Show that featured Thomas Beattie, a transgendered man who is six months’ pregnant, and his wife, Nancy, was the show’s eighth-highest-rated of the season, according to CBS Television Distribution.
The show, which aired Thursday, April 3, scored a 6.5 rating/17 share primary weighted household average, doubling its lead-in average of 3.2/9. The show did best in St. Louis, where it hit a 15.9/30, and Minneapolis, where it averaged a 10.2/28.
Oprah collaborated with People magazine on the controversial episode. Beattie, 34, grew up female but transitioned to life as a man 10 years ago. While Beattie did have testosterone treatments and breast-removal surgery, he kept his reproductive organs intact because, he told Winfrey, he “always wanted a child.”
