‘Cosby Show,’ NBC Still Lead in Ratings Race

“The Cosby Show” and NBC remained on top of the prime-time ratings race last week, with the only really bad news for the network found in the continued poor showing of “NBC Nightly News,” it was reported today.

ABC’s “World News Tonight” with Peter Jennings was in first place for the 10th straight week with an 11.2 rating and a 21 share. “CBS Evening News” with Dan Rather had a 10.2 rating and a 19 share, while “NBC Nightly News” was third with a 9.9 rating and an 18 share.

The ABC-CBS news race has been tight for some time, but ABC has been able to stay on top in recent months. Part of the current ABC advantage comes from its fast coverage of the Oct. 17 San Francisco earthquake, when its crews were already on the spot to cover the World Series.

In the Sunday movie sweepstakes, ABC took top honors with the Eddie Murphy theatrical film, “The Golden Child,” tied for 29th. CBS was second with “Money, Power, Murder” tied for 34th, and NBC’s “Man Against The Mob: The Chinatown Murders” tied for 47th.

NBC won the ratings race for the week ending Dec. 10, according to the A. C. Nielsen Co., winning a 14.2 rating and a 23 share. ABC was second with a 11.9 rating and a 20 share and CBS was last with an 11.3 rating and a 19 share.

TOP 10 SHOWS

Here are the ratings for national prime-time television last week (Dec. 4-10), as compiled by the A. C. Nielsen Co.

Program (Network): Rating

1. The Cosby Show (NBC): 24.3

2. Cheers (NBC): 24.2

3. Roseanne (ABC): 23.5

4. A Different World (NBC): 23.0

5. Dear John (NBC): 20.4

6. The Golden Girls (NBC): 19.9

7. 60 Minutes (CBS): 19.5

8. Murder, She Wrote (CBS): 18.9

9. L.A. Law (NBC): 18.8

10. Empty Nest (NBC): 18.7