TV Ratings : NBC Rolls to an Easy Victory

With six of the top 10 shows, including the first installment of its miniseries “A Woman of Independent Means” with Sally Field, NBC rolled to victory in the prime-time ratings last week, the A.C. Nielsen Co. reported Wednesday.

Topping the chart for the fifth time in six weeks was the rookie medical drama “ER.” It’s the first time a drama series has done that well in the ratings since “Dallas” rang up five consecutive wins in 1982, NBC said.

But just as significant as NBC’s Top Ten shows was the one that came in No. 11: “Sister Act.” The 1992 theatrical film with Whoopi Goldberg beat the conclusion of ABC’s two-part TV movie “Texas Justice,” which registered 10% lower ratings than the first installment.

Over at Fox, meanwhile, “The X-Files” won its Friday night time slot for the first time, outdrawing the competing programming on ABC, CBS and NBC. It tied with “Beverly Hills, 90210” as Fox’s highest rated program of the week.

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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 Network Rating 1. ER KNBC 25.9 2. Seinfeld (9:30) KNBC 23.1 3. Seinfeld KNBC 22.7 4. “Woman of Independent Means” KNBC 19.8 5. Home Improvement KABC 18.3 6. Mad About You KNBC 17.3 7. 60 Minutes KCBS 17.2 8. Grace Under Fire KABC 16.8 9. Roseanne KABC 16.2 10. Friends KNBC 16.1

Weekly Averages

NBC 12.5

ABC 12.1

CBS 11.3

FOX 7.7

UPN 4.1

WB: 1.9

Season to Date

ABC 12.2

NBC 11.6

CBS 11.4

FOX 7.2

UPN 5.3

WB 2.0

Source: A. C. Nielsen Ratings