Armstrong interview draws 3.2 million viewers

FILE - In this April 14, 2011 file publicity image released by OWN, TV personality and media mogul Oprah Winfrey presents at the OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network portion of the Discovery Communications Upfront at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York. Winfrey's interview with Lance Armstrong is more than an illustration of a hero athlete tumbling from the heights. It's also a pivotal moment for a famous media figure on the way back. Winfrey's OWN network is showing signs of life after a well-documented rocky start, and the Armstrong interview offered a chance for many more viewers to tune in. The first half of the interview aired Thursday Jan. 17, 2013, with a second part Friday. (AP Photo/OWN, George Burns) MANDATORY CREDIT: GEORGE BURNS/OWN
FILE - In this April 14, 2011 file publicity image released by OWN, TV personality and media mogul Oprah Winfrey presents at the OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network portion of the Discovery Communications Upfront at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York. Winfrey's interview with Lance Armstrong is more than an illustration of a hero athlete tumbling from the heights. It's also a pivotal moment for a famous media figure on the way back. Winfrey's OWN network is showing signs of life after a well-documented rocky start, and the Armstrong interview offered a chance for many more viewers to tune in. The first half of the interview aired Thursday Jan. 17, 2013, with a second part Friday. (AP Photo/OWN, George Burns) MANDATORY CREDIT: GEORGE BURNS/OWN

NEW YORK (AP) — Oprah Winfrey's much-anticipated interview with Lance Armstrong was seen by a total of 4.3 million viewers in back-to-back airings Thursday night on OWN.

But the interview with the disgraced cycling champion drew only 3.2 million viewers for its first airing, an audience that fell short of OWN's most-watched program: an interview Winfrey conducted with the family of Whitney Houston last March following the singer's death the previous month.

During the highly publicized program, Armstrong confessed to taking banned substances for all seven of his Tour de France victories, among other admissions.

The second half of the Armstrong interview is scheduled to air Friday night.