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'Dateline' To Help Fill 'Leno' Gap

Los Angeles Times, Monday, March 8, 2010 12:13 AM

As NBC revamps its 10 p.m. hour, it has called on "Dateline" to fill in the gap on Fridays by stretching the program to two hours, from 9 to 11 p.m. That means the newsmagazine has 12 extra hours this spring, up against an old rival "20/20." Both programs now produce one long-form story per episode versus several stories in the format.

It's the first time the programs will face off directly since last summer, when "Dateline" attracted an average audience of 6.2 million viewers, 28% more than "20/20's" 4.8 million, according to Nielsen. So far this season, the two shows have been more closely matched, with "Dateline" drawing 7.7 million viewers Fridays at 9 p.m., while "20/20" has pulled in 7 million viewers Fridays at 10 p.m.

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