CBS Tops Daytime for 197th Straight Week

CBS won the daytime ratings competition last week for the 197th consecutive week, according to figures released Thursday by the A.C. Nielsen Co. And CBS’ soap opera “The Young and the Restless” was the top-rated program.

Since last Sept. 21, CBS’ daytime schedule has been watched in an average of 5.2 million homes each weekday, compared to 4.3 million for ABC and 2.7 million for NBC. The networks rank in the same order in prime time too.

In the early-morning ratings, ABC’s “Good Morning America” finished first for the fifth week in a row and holds a slim edge over NBC’s “Today” for the season. CBS’ “This Morning” trails in third but the network says its ratings are up 15% over the same period a year ago.

Combined viewing of the three network morning shows last week was 21% higher than the same week in 1991 because of coverage of U.S. troops providing relief in Somalia, CBS said.