TV Ratings : ’60 Minutes,’ ‘Murder’ and ‘Nora’ Lead to Victory for CBS

CBS’ three Sunday-night programs--”60 Minutes,” “Murder, She Wrote” and the movie “The Disappearance of Nora,” starring Veronica Hamel--finished in the top five and helped propel the network to another victory in the prime-time ratings last week, the A.C. Nielsen Co. reported Tuesday.

It was the 12th time in the past 13 weeks that CBS has topped its rival networks in the audience-measurement polling. The network is well ahead in the season-to-date race and figures to capture the prime-time crown next month for the second year in a row.

Four series debuted last week. ABC’s comedy “Getting By” did the best, holding its lead-in audience from “Step by Step” and winning its time slot at 9 p.m. Friday. “Where I Live,” which followed “Getting By,” lost 20% of the viewers but still beat “Bob” on CBS.

ABC’s newsmagazine “Day One,” meanwhile, ranked No. 50 among the week’s 92 prime-time programs, losing not only to CBS’ “Murder, She Wrote” but also to NBC’s “I Witness Video,” which got its highest ratings ever. NBC’s new “Crime & Punishment” ran third in its time slot on both Wednesday and Thursday.

WEEKLY AVERAGES CBS: 13.3 ABC: 12.3 NBC: 10.6 FOX: 8.2

SEASON TO DATE CBS: 13.5 ABC: 12.4 NBC: 11.1 FOX 7.8