TV Ratings : Letterman and Oscars Team Up for No. 1

David Letterman was back on a No. 1 network last week and, as it turned out, on the No. 1 program to boot. ABC’s telecast of the 67th annual Academy Awards show, with CBS’ late-night star as the host, topped the A.C. Nielsen Co. ratings list Tuesday with its best figures since 1983.

The Oscar ceremony at the Shrine Auditorium was seen in 31 million U.S. homes--a whopping 53% of all the households that were watching television at the time. By contrast, the week’s No. 2-rated program, “ER” on NBC, was watched in about 21.8 million homes.

The strong showing for the Academy Awards--up 5% over last year--carried ABC to victory for the week in prime time and helped solidify its No. 1 standing as the season plays out its final two weeks. The network had five other programs in the Top 10.

Of the two series that premiered last week, NBC’s “Amazing Grace” did the best, running second in its Saturday night time slot and placing 53rd among the week’s 96 prime-time network programs. With almost the identical audience, CBS’ “The Wright Verdicts” finished 55th overall but was fourth in its Friday night time period.

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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 Station Rating 1. “Barbara Walters Special” KABC 33.0 2. ER KNBC 23.2 3. Seinfeld KNBC 21.6 4. Friends KNBC 19.6 5. “The Winners” KABC 17.8 Home Improvement KABC 17.8 7. Mad About You KNBC 17.0 8. Frasier KNBC 16.6 Grace Under Fire KABC 16.6 10. Grace Under Fire (Tue.) KABC 16.4

Weekly Averages ABC: 13.5 NBC: 11.0 CBS: 9.7 FOX: 6.6 UPN: 3.0 WB: 1.7

Season to Date ABC: 12.1 NBC: 11.6 CBS: 11.2 FOX: 7.7 UPN: 4.5 WB: 1.9 Source: A. C. Nielsen