TV Ratings : Hurley Interview Puts ‘20/20’ in No. 2 Spot

ABC, which earned a ratings bonanza with its “PrimeTime Live” interview of Michael Jackson in June, got another boost last week from model-actress Elizabeth Hurley’s appearance on “20/20.”

Data released Tuesday by Nielsen Media Research showed that Barbara Walters’ interview Friday with Hurley, the “wronged woman” in Hugh Grant’s close encounter with a Hollywood prostitute, brought in about 760,000 more viewers than had watched “20/20” the week before.

That was enough to push “20/20” to the No. 2 spot in the national rankings of last week’s prime-time network programs, trailing only NBC’s “Seinfeld.” And locally it did even better, finishing a strong first--having attracted 31% of the audience watching TV at the time.

There were several other variations between the national and local ratings. NBC’s “ER” finished third nationally but tied for ninth locally, while ABC’s “Hangin’ With Mr. Cooper” ranked 28th nationally but was No. 8 locally.

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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.

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Program Network Rating 1. 20/20 KABC 17.4 2. Seinfeld KNBC 15.7 3. Friends KNBC 13.9 4. Home Improvement KABC 12.8 5. Cybill KCBS 12.6 6. Step by Step KABC 12.5 7. NewsRadio KNBC 11.9 8. Hangin’ With Mr. Cooper KABC 11.8 9. Roseanne KABC 11.7 - ER KNBC 11.7

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Weekly Averages

ABC: 8.6

NBC: 8.4

CBS: 7.5

FOX: 4.9

WB: 2.3

UPN: 2.1

Season to Date

ABC: 11.1

NBC: 10.8

CBS: 10.1

FOX: 6.9

UPN: 3.4

WB: 1.8