TV Ratings : ABC Comedies Pay Off for Network

ABC, which will go heavy on comedy in the new TV season--after dropping such dramas as “thirtysomething” and “China Beach”--tuned up with a ratings victory last week propelled by its sitcoms. Four of them--”Roseanne,” “Coach,” “Who’s the Boss?” and “Full House”--finished in the Top 10. According to the A. C. Nielsen research firm, ABC scored a 9.4 rating, NBC 9.2 and CBS 9.1. Each rating point equals 931,000 homes. The full ratings list is on F9.

In evening news competition during the week of historic Soviet upheaval, ABC was first with a 9.6 rating, CBS was second with 8.7 and NBC last with 8.2.

* Despite being yanked from NBC’s new fall schedule, “Matlock,” the successful, long-running series with Andy Griffith as a Southern lawyer, ranked a solid No. 20 for the week.

Show Points Share 1. “Roseanne” (ABC) 16.1 27 2. “60 Minutes” (CBS) 14.1 30 3. “Unsolved Mysteries” (NBC) 13.8 27 4. “Coach” (ABC) 13.8 23 5. “Cheers” (NBC) 13.5 24 * “Matlock” (NBC) 11.3 20