TV Ratings : ‘Fascinating’ ABC Beats NBC in Numbers Game

NBC had five of the top seven programs on TV last week but ABC had 15 of the top 30 and won the weekly network competition in homes, ratings from Nielsen Media Research showed Tuesday. NBC won among 18- to 49-year-olds and still leads for the prime-time season, however.

NBC’s “ER” again was the nation’s most-watched show, attracting about 35 million viewers--about 14 million more than tuned in to see President Clinton interviewed on “60 Minutes” Sunday night. “Barbara Walters Presents the 10 Most Fascinating People of 1995” ranked 10th among the week’s 104 prime-time network programs.

CBS, struggling through its worst season in history, got some good news with regard to its Friday lineup. The return of “Due South” and “Diagnosis Murder” last week attracted larger audiences than had been watching the shows previously scheduled in the 8-10 p.m. slot. And “Picket Fences,” returning to its former home of 10 p.m., was up 7% over the rating it had been averaging at 9 p.m.

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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 Station Rating 1. Seinfeld KNBC 24.3 2. ER KNBC 22.7 3. Friends KNBC 19.8 4. Caroline in the City KNBC 19.5 5. Home Improvement KABC 18.2 6. The Single Guy KNBC 16.3 7. 60 Minutes KCBS 15.3 8. Married ... With Children KTTV 15.2 9. “10 Most Fascinating People” KABC 15.0 10. Roseanne KABC 14.9

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Weekly Averages

ABC: 11.0

NBC: 10.7

CBS: 9.4

FOX: 7.1

UPN: 3.5

WB: 2.0

Season to Date

NBC: 12.0

ABC: 11.6

CBS: 9.5

FOX: 7.4

UPN: 3.3

WB: 2.3

Source: A.C. Nielsen