TV Ratings : Holiday Week a Dud for the Networks

Independence Day notwithstanding, last week provided no cause for celebration at the major networks. Ratings released Tuesday by the A. C. Nielsen Co. showed that ABC, CBS and NBC combined to attract only 50% of the people watching prime-time television last week. Fox accounted for another 11%, leaving 39% who were viewing cable or independent stations. Only four of the week’s 91 programs garnered more than a 25% share of the audience, and only 18 others registered even a 20% share. CBS had four of the five top-rated programs but managed only a tie with NBC for first place overall. The full list of ratings is on F6.

* Most people chose not to accept CBS’ invitation to do their Fourth of July celebrating in front of the tube. The network’s two-hour “Great American Celebration” last Thursday was seen in about 4.6 million homes--only 13% of the available audience--and wound up ranked 75th for the week. Even the show that followed it, a news special featuring correspondent Bob Simon returning to Iraq, where he’d been held hostage during the Persian Gulf War, drew a larger

Show Points Share 1. “Designing Women” (CBS) 13.0 23 2. “60 Minutes” (CBS) 12.7 28 3. “Northern Exposure” (CBS) 12.4 23 4. “In the Heat of the Night” (NBC) 12.3 23 5. “Murphy Brown” (CBS) 12.2 22 * “Great American Celebration” (CBS) 4.9 13