TV RATINGS

ABC’s three-part “Napoleon and Josephine: A Love Story” premiered on Nov.9 with moderate Nielsen success--15th out of 70 shows broadcast--but the number of viewers steadily declined over the next two nights. NBC had greater miniseries success with the second part of its “Billionaire Boys Club,” which finished eighth for the week. On Sunday, CBS’s “The Mayflower Madam” won in its slot and finished eighth for the week, while NBC’s “Perry Mason: Case of the Scandalous Scoundrel” movie special came in 22nd and ABC’s “Dolly” slipped way down to 50th. Weekly network averages: NBC, 17.1 rating/28 share; ABC, 13.5/22; CBS, 13.5/22. Evening news ratings: CBS 12.6, NBC 11.3, ABC 11.1. (One Nielsen point equals 886,000 homes; “share” refers to the percentage of households watching a particular program.) The complete Nielsens appear on Page 10.

* CBS’s Monday night serio-comedy “Frank’s Place” starring former “WKRP in Cincinnati” star Tim Reid continues garnering only marginal viewer interest--a 40th-place ranking--despite widespread praise from critics and its dedicated core of fans. That weak start as CBS’s Monday night leadoff presentation appears to be keeping the network’s other comedies from springboarding into their once-familiar Top-20 spots and forcing the network into a second-place tie with ABC for the week.