The Season Comes to a Close and the Eye Has It

ABC had two explosive hit series, “Home Improvement” and “Roseanne,” in the 1993-94 prime-time season, but CBS had Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan in the hugely watched Winter Olympics.

And, although Olympics invariably are audience winners on their own, the scandal-driven story and matchup of the two skaters were a factor in helping to blow apart what had been a relatively tight ratings battle between the two networks, easily assuring CBS of its third consecutive winning year in the so-called official season that ends Sunday.

Along with the Olympics, CBS got major attention with another significant showcase in 1993-94: David Letterman’s whopping first season on the network as he comfortably won against NBC’s “Tonight Show” with Jay Leno, who beat him out for the job as Johnny Carson’s heir.

For Los Angeles-area TV viewers, nothing in the 1993-94 season, of course, will ever compare to the great Northridge earthquake of Jan. 17. And it is quite possible that the Winter Olympics in Norway, which took place soon afterward in February, were also a tremendous emotional release to the audience here in the nation’s second largest TV market, as well as offering the intriguing rivalry between the two skaters.

The Kerrigan-Harding affair was to this past television semester what the networks’ three prime-time Amy Fisher movies were to the season before, a perfect real-life story for the era of tabloid journalism, particularly as it continues to ooze its way onto the home screen.

And nothing was more obvious in the 30-week season that began on Sept. 20 than the fact that sensation-based, prime-time reality series--dressed up as newsmagazines--were taking over far too much of prime time, mainly because they are cheaper to produce than the dramas they have replaced.

At last count, there were 10 network newsmagazines, with more probably on the way. CBS’ “60 Minutes,” the inspiration for many of these lesser imitations and offshoots, continued its amazing hold on the audience, ranking second among all series for the season, trailing only “Home Improvement.”

As for the others, ABC’s “20/20” is No. 14 thus far for 1993-94, as of the next-to-last weekly ratings for the season released on Tuesday. Diane Sawyer, who finally decided to remain at ABC after a multimillion-dollar network bidding war for her services, had the next two highest-rated newsmagazines: the new “Turning Point” (No. 16) and “PrimeTime Live” (No. 20).

Anchors from the once-staid evening news broadcasts were getting roped more and more into the prime-time newsmagazine arena. CBS’ new anchor team this season, Dan Rather and Connie Chung, were ill-matched and ignited few sparks in their nightly broadcasts, but each had newsmagazines. Rather’s “48 Hours” was No. 45 and “Eye to Eye With Connie Chung” No. 66 among 127 series for the season.

Over at NBC, meanwhile, anchor Tom Brokaw was also inserted into a newsmagazine, paired with Katie Couric of the “Today” show. Their prime-time entry, “Now With Tom Brokaw and Katie Couric,” was No. 55.

How hot are the newsmagazines? Well, starting May 24 and for 13 weeks through the summer, “Dateline NBC,” another entry in the field with Jane Pauley and Stone Phillips as anchors, will expand to two nights a week--Tuesdays and Thursdays. The network has tried this briefly before with the series, which has attempted to re-establish its credibility after its shocking staging of a fiery truck crash.

Amid all the hard-edged reality shows and tabloid stories, it seemed almost an omen when Charles Kuralt, the gentle host of CBS’ “On the Road” pieces and “Sunday Morning” series--and a bastion of solid, understated journalism--announced his retirement from the network at only 59 years of age.

If the Winter Olympics did well by CBS, they were also good for networks overall, serving as a reminder that, even in a cable age--and with the hype of the burgeoning information superhighway--nothing, at least yet, can compare to the traditional form of TV broadcasting in terms of sheer clout in harnessing an audience.

Networks may yet be sold, merged or change their form, but their power as distribution outlets is undeniable--and desirable for prospective partners. And the perception that at least some networks are still alive and kicking--after years of funereal pronouncements about their fate--is helped by such events as the Winter Olympics.

CBS research chief David Poltrack said this week that the audience share of the Big Three networks will actually increase this season--from 60% in 1992-93 to 61% for 1993-94. Other reports have estimated the increase as slightly higher.

The late-night wars, meanwhile, held viewer attention throughout the season as audiences watched to see who would replace Carson as the new king. The field was jammed last fall, but Fox Broadcasting’s entry, Chevy Chase, fell out quickly. The shocker was not that Letterman started fast in his new 11:35 p.m. slot--the curious were expected to tune in at first--but that his audience was steady and unexpectedly sizable, even though Leno pulled decent ratings of his own.

In the wee hours after Letterman and Leno, NBC’s new Conan O’Brien series was an awkward, fumbling yawn. But the same network’s new late-late program with Greg Kinnear--replacing Bob Costas--showed promise with its quick-witted, quick-study host.

The Leno-Letterman rivalry will be stepped up during the May sweeps when each invades the other’s home-base city for a week. Letterman airs from Hollywood starting May 9, and Leno will originate from New York beginning May 16.

From government to the private sector, TV violence continued to be an issue. Yet the irony was that the one series that gave new hope to network dramas--ABC’s police show “NYPD Blue”--not only was outstanding and high-rated (No. 24)--but succeeded despite attacks that it was too violent and sexy. Producer Steven Bochco maintained it was important for network television to go further out on a limb to win back viewers who were defecting for the realism on cable.

While NBC was third among the Big Three for the season, it did succeed in establishing a highly entertaining, blockbuster tandem on Thursdays--”Seinfeld,” which remained a sensation, followed by “Frasier,” a new sitcom starring Kelsey Grammer, formerly a “Cheers” regular. ABC, meanwhile, had its own new blockbuster tandem on Wednesdays--”Home Improvement,” followed by another highly entertaining new sitcom, “Grace Under Fire,” starring Brett Butler. Both new series made the Top 10.

Over at Fox, the young company made a further bid to become a complete network by swiping National Football League games from CBS, starting this fall. But for 1993-94, CBS, despite snipes that its audience is older, was the easy winner again, running up big profits and, with the help of Tonya and Nancy, wrapping up the season early.

Top 10 of 1993-94*

1. “Home Improvement”: ABC

2. “60 Minutes”: CBS

3. “Roseanne”: ABC

4. “Seinfeld”: NBC

5. “Grace Under Fire”: ABC

6. “Coach”: ABC

“Frasier”: NBC

8. “Murder, She Wrote”: CBS

9. “Murphy Brown”: CBS

10. “Monday Night Football”: ABC

Source: The A. C. Nielsen Co.

* Through April 10. Season ends April 17.