TV Ratings : ABC Starts Sweeps Month With a Win

NBC hit pay dirt with an election-themed two-hour special, “Saturday Night Live’s Presidential Bash,” but ABC was stronger overall with six of the Top 10 shows and won last week’s prime-time ratings race as the November sweeps began.

In a week also marked by program-length political commercials, the “SNL” outing gave NBC its highest-rated entertainment special since September, 1989, and earned it a Top 10 spot, ahead of tough competition, including the film “Pretty Woman” on ABC and TV movie “Her Final Fury: Betty Broderick, the Last Chapter” on CBS.

About 75% of the nation’s viewers tuned in the three programs, well above the average audience share for the Big Three networks.

According to the A. C. Nielsen research firm, ABC averaged a 12.9 behind the Top 10 programs “Roseanne,” “Coach,” “Home Improvement,” “Pretty Woman,” “20/20” and “Full House.” NBC and CBS tied for second with 12.2. (Each rating point equals 931,000 homes). The full ratings list is on F9.

* A Halloween episode of Fox’s “The Simpsons” not only ranked No. 20 in total TV households--outpointing all of its network competition--but also was the eighth most popular show among viewers 18 to 49 years old.

Points Share 1. “Roseanne” (ABC) 24.1 37 2. “60 Minutes” CBS) 23.0 35 3. “Coach” (ABC) 20.0 31 4. “Murphy Brown” (CBS) 18.8 28 5. “Home Improvement” (ABC) 18.4 28 * “The Simpsons” (FOX) 14.7 23