TV ratings: Rosie scores, <i>Matthew Shepard</i> doesn't (3504)

Variety reports that Rosie O'Donnell's coming-out interview on Primetime Thursday gave the ABC network its highest Thursday night ratings for the entire season. The show attracted 14.4 million viewers, besting such hits as NBC's Will & Grace and ER. Meanwhile, NBC's Saturday night presentation of The Matthew Shepard Story pulled in a 2.2 rating/7 share among adults 18-49 (compared with Primetime Thursday's 5.1 rating/13 share), according to preliminary numbers. Overall, the film finished in fourth place, although the ratings in that time slot were better than what NBC achieved last year, when XFL games were still being aired.