A Peacock With Something to Crow About

With six of the Top 10 shows, NBC finished first in the prime-time ratings last week for the 46th week in a row, tying the record for most consecutive victories by a network. CBS previously accomplished that feat during the 1962-63 season. The A.C. Nielsen ratings released Tuesday showed that NBC’s prime-time programs averaged an audience of 12.4 million homes last week, compared to about 11.2 million for CBS and 10.6 million for ABC. The full list of ratings is on Page 10.

* Highlighting ABC’s woes was the performance of “War and Remembrance” Sunday night, which attracted only 21% of the available viewers from 8 to 11 p.m. The 13.4 rating--representing 12.1 million homes--was about 5 ratings points lower than what ABC had promised advertisers, meaning the network will have to give them free commercial time later to make up the difference.

TV RATINGS

Show Points Share 1.”Roseanne” 23.8 35 ABC 2.”The Cosby Show” 21.7 39 NBC 3.”Cheers” 20.8 33 NBC 4.”A Different World” 20.7 35 NBC 5.”60 Minutes” 19.8 38 CBS * “War and Remembrance” 13.4 21 ABC