TV RATINGS : Bowl Romp Throws ‘Grand Slam’ for Loss

Despite topping the weekly TV ratings chart by a hundred yards, Super Bowl XXIV on CBS drew the lowest ratings for the contest in 21 years and the lowest total viewership since 1981. Hourly ratings figures show that TV viewers began turning off the game as San Francisco built up an insurmountable lead over Denver, which ultimately lost 55-10. The game scored a 39 rating, which means 35.9 million households watched it, according to figures released Tuesday. The Super Bowl postgame show placed second in the Nielsens for the week with a 25.3 rating. Winning the top two slots was not enough to keep CBS out of the ratings cellar, however. NBC won the week, becoming the first network ever to win World Series week and Super Bowl week without carrying those big-draw sporting events. The full list of ratings is on F9.

* San Francisco’s Super Bowl romp was bad news for “Grand Slam,” the new CBS series that premiered after the game. The dwindling number of viewers resulted in unspectacular ratings for the 90-minute adventure, which was seen in 17.1 million households, placing 15th.

Show Points Share 1.”Super Bowl XXIV”(CBS) 39.0 63 2.”Super Bowl Postgame”(CBS) 25.3 39 3.”The Cosby Show”(NBC) 25.0 39 4.”Cheers”(NBC) 25.0 37 5.”Roseanne”(ABC) 24.5 36 *”Grand Slam”(CBS) 18.6 30