TV Ratings : Baby Bundy Boosts ‘Married’ Viewers

The prospect of a baby Bundy on the way sent so many Americans scurrying to their TV sets Sunday night that “Married . . . With Children” ranked No. 2 among the week’s prime-time programs--the highest placement ever for a Fox show. Only “Monday Night Football’s” coverage of the San Francisco 49er-New York Giant game was watched in more U.S. households--about 16.8 million, compared to about 16.5 million for the season premiere of “Married,” on which the pregnancy of Peg Bundy (Katey Sagal) was revealed. “Married” previously had reached No. 3 in the weekly standings, as had Fox’s “The Simpsons.” Ratings released Tuesday by the A. C. Nielsen Co. put ABC in first for last week, followed by NBC and CBS. The full list of ratings is on F9.

* The strong showing of “Married . . . With Children” gave a boost to the new series debuting behind it, “Herman’s Head.” The 9:30 p.m. comedy beat all the network competition and tied for 22nd among the week’s 91 network prime-time programs. On the other hand, the falloff from “Married” was considerable--it was seen in about 5.5 million fewer homes.

Show Points Share 1. “Monday Night Football” (ABC) 18.3 32 2. “Married ... With Children” (Fox) 17.9 29 3. “Roseanne” (ABC) 17.2 28 4. “60 Minutes” (CBS) 16.2 32 5. “Cheers” (NBC) 14.7 24 * “Herman’s Head” (Fox) 11.9 20