'Oprah Winfrey' finale seen by 16 million viewers

NEW YORK (AP) -- When Oprah Winfrey told her daytime viewers farewell last month, more than 16 million were watching.

The Nielsen Co. reported Wednesday that the May 25 finale of "The Oprah Winfrey Show" drew 16.4 million viewers. This made the finale the show's most-watched episode in more than 18 years, since the February 1993 airing of its "Why I Love Older Women" episode, which was seen by 17.3 million viewers.

Nielsen says the audience for the surprise farewell episode that aired May 23 drew 12.3 million viewers. The second part of that gala event attracted 13 million viewers when it aired May 24.

"The Oprah Winfrey Show" averaged 8.2 million viewers during May.

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