Walters, Timberlake boost ABC in ratings

NEW YORK (AP) — Thanks to Justin Timberlake and Barbara Walters, ABC is enjoying its second-best week in the ratings so far this year.

Timberlake was the big winner in Sunday's Billboard Music Awards, which was seen by 10.7 million viewers. The Nielsen company said that represents a 13 percent increase over last year for the show, and was the most-watched Billboard awards since 2001.

An estimated 9.5 million people watched ABC's two-hour salute to retiring TV news legend Walters on Friday, the biggest audience the network has received in that time slot in two years. Earlier in the day, Nielsen said 5.2 million people watched Walters on "The View," the daytime talk show she invented.