Lifetime scored a big ratings haul Sunday with its Whitney Houston programming block.
Pegged to its original TV movie Whitney, starring Yaya DeCosta and Arlen Escarpeta as Bobby Brown, the two-hour biopic averaged 4.5 million total viewers between 8 and 10 p.m. The telepic, featuring Angela Bassett in her directorial debut, marks Lifetime's most-watched telecast across all key demos since Flowers in the Attic a year ago. (Whitney also drew 2.2 million adults 25-54 and 2.1 million among adults 18-49.)
More impressive than the haul for the movie is the fact that Lifetime managed to get viewers to stick around for the subsequent specials.
Airing at 10 p.m. the hour-long special Bobby Brown: Remembering Whitney featuring the beleaguered singer in a "no-holds-barred" interview delivered 4.1 million total viewers. That's a 91 percent holdover from its lead-in. In the demos, the Brown special pulled 1.9 million among adults 25-54 and 1.8 million among adults 18-49.
At 11 p.m., the Whitney Houston Live: Her Greatest Performances drew another 3.2 million total viewers, 1.4 million adults 25-54 and 1.4 million adults 18-49.
