TV Ratings : ‘Rockford’ a National Hit; L.A. Loves ‘Simpsons’

Jim Rockford’s return to television after a 15-year absence won an enthusiastic reception. CBS’ new TV movie of “The Rockford Files: I Still Love L.A.,” with James Garner back as the easygoing private eye, won 28% of the available audience Sunday night and ranked No. 4 among the week’s prime-time network programs, both nationally and in the local market.

But what bore no similarity between national and local interest in the figures released Tuesday by the A.C. Nielsen Co. was “The Simpsons.” Sunday night’s 8 p.m. episode on Fox--in which Homer Simpson was falsely accused of sexual harassment and became the subject of a media frenzy along the lines of a certain real-life Simpson--was the No. 2 program of the week locally. But it ranked only 50th in the national standings.

With the strong performance of “The Rockford Files” and the rest of its Sunday lineup, CBS won the week, narrowed the seasonal race with ABC and widened its lead in the November ratings sweeps, which end tonight.

Southland Ratings

Here are A. C. Nielsen’s Top 10 prime-time programs in the Los Angeles area during the same week. Each rating point equals 50,064 households.

Program Station Rating 1. Grace Under Fire KABC 18.9 2. The Simpsons KTTV 19.4 3. Home Improvement KABC 19.1 4. “The Rockford Files” KCBS 19.0 5. Frasier KNBC 18.5 6. The Simpsons (8:30 p.m.) KTTV 18.1 7. Roseanne KABC 16.2 8. Mad About You (Tues.) KNBC 15.9 9. Ellen KABC 15.7 10. Full House KABC 15.7

Weekly Averages

CBS: 12.4

NBC: 12.0

ABC: 11.7

FOX: 7.5

Season to Date

ABC: 12.2

CBS: 12.1

NBC: 11.6

FOX: 7.8

Source: A. C. Nielsen