TV RATINGS : Tops of the Week’s News Programs : News Programming Sputters Below Surface

With the Olympics on NBC and a shortage of new entertainment series to plug the gaps, CBS and ABC peppered their prime-time schedules with news programs last week--with mixed results. CBS scored well with the always strong “60 Minutes” (seen in about 15.2 million homes) and a topical “48 Hours” (about 12.8 million) about Hurricane Gilbert. ABC had decent ratings for its Ted Koppel report on the debate over legalizing drugs (about 11 million) but generated relatively little interest with a documentary Sunday night on the U.S. space program (about 5.8 million). A complete ratings list appears on Page 8.

Show Points Share 6. “60 Minutes” 16.8 29 (CBS) (repeat) 12.”48 Hours” (Hurricane Gilbert) 14.1 24 (CBS) 23.”The Koppel Report” 12.4 22 (ABC) 25.”20/20” 11.9 22 (ABC) (repeat) 55.”West 57th Street” 6.8 13 (CBS) 58.”ABC News Closeup: Beyond the Shuttle” 6.4 11 (ABC)