TV Ratings : NBC Takes Top Spot, but ABC Takes the Week

NBC had the two highest-rated TV shows last week but ABC won the network competition, solidifying its front-runner position as the prime-time season heads for an April 16 conclusion, A. C. Nielsen Co. data showed Tuesday. ABC accounted for 12 of the 26 top-rated programs.

NBC had plenty to be happy about at No. 2, however. Its comedy series “NewsRadio,” with Phil Hartman, won its Tuesday night time slot the first time out and ranked No. 20 among the week’s 99 prime-time network programs, while another NBC newcomer, “Pride & Joy,” premiered at No. 31 and the 3-week-old “Hope & Gloria” held strong at No. 12.

Fox too was pleased at the performance of its new series, “Sliders.” The two-hour premiere Wednesday night only ranked 51st overall but garnered a 7% improvement over Fox’s ratings average in the time period and beat its network competition in key male demographics.

The trick now for Fox will be to maintain interest in the space-warp drama, something it has not been able to do with another sci-fi entry, “VR.5,” whose audience last Friday was only 44% of what it was for the premiere two weeks earlier.

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. Seinfeld KNBC 20.9 2. Home Improvement KABC 20.2 3. Friends KNBC 19.5 4. ER KNBC 18.9 5. Frasier KNBC 18.7 6. 60 Minutes KCBS 18.3 7. NYPD Blue KABC 18.1 8. Ellen KABC 17.7 9. Roseanne KABC 17.2 10. Grace Under Fire KABC 17.0

Weekly Averages

ABCL 11.6 NBC: 11.1 CBS: 9.3 FOX: 7.3 UPN: 3.8 WB: 1.7

Season to Date ABC: 12.0 NBC: 11.6 CBS: 11.2 FOX: 7.8 UPN: 4.6 WB: 1.9 Source: A. C. Nielsen