TV Ratings : Administration Takes One-Two Punch

With “Murphy Brown” having taken its shot at Vice President Dan Quayle the week before, the Bush Administration’s nemesis from the other end of the economic spectrum, “Roseanne,” climbed to the top of the Nielsen ratings last week. According to figures released Tuesday by the A.C. Nielsen Co., the ABC series, with an episode in which the Conner family lost electricity in their home because they were unable to pay the bill, was seen in about 21.6 million homes. CBS’ “Murphy Brown,” meanwhile, was No. 2, helping to carry the network to an emphatic win over its rival networks in the second week of the 1992-93 season.

* CBS’ “Love & War” again was the highest rated freshman series, finishing No. 8 among the week’s 98 prime-time programs on the four networks. Other strong new entries were CBS’ “Hearts Afire” at No. 10 and ABC’s “Hangin’ With Mr. Cooper” at No. 15. At the other end of the list were such newcomers as ABC’s “Delta” at No. 64, NBC’s “Here and Now” at No. 77, CBS’ “Frannie’s Turn” at No. 89 and Fox’s “Likely Suspects” at No. 98.

TV Ratings

TV Ratings Points Share 1. “Roseanne” (ABC) 23.2 35 2. “Murphy Brown” (CBS) 21.5 31 3. “Country Music Awards” (CBS) 20.3 32 4. “60 Minutes” (CBS) 20.0 35 5. “Coach” (ABC) 19.1 29 * “Love & War” (CBS) 17.3 26

Complete list, F9 (Each rating point represents 931,000 homes.

Share is the percentage of viewing audience.)