TV Ratings : Two ‘Frasiers’ Help NBC to Lopsided Win

With 12 shows in the Top 20, NBC scored a runaway victory in the battle for viewers last week, Nielsen Media Research reported Tuesday. It had six sitcoms in the Top 10, including both the Tuesday and Thursday episodes of “Frasier,” starring Kelsey Grammer.

NBC also got a Top 10 showing from its Monday night movie “A Face to Die For,” and while the premiere of the Sunday night edition of “Dateline NBC” failed to put a dent in CBS’ venerable “60 Minutes,” it ran a strong second in the time period with viewership well above what entertainment programs previously had garnered there.

But the most-watched newsmagazine of the week turned out to be ABC’s “20/20” on Friday night, which attracted nearly 24.7 million viewers with Barbara Walters’ interview of former O.J. Simpson prosecutor Christopher Darden.

Among new series, ABC’s “The Dana Carvey Show” fared best, winning its Tuesday time period and ranking 11th overall. ABC’s “The Faculty” also won its time slot Wednesday and was 34th. ABC’s “Aliens in the Family” was 62nd, Fox’s “The Show” was 76th and Fox’s “Local Heroes” was 91st.

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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. Seinfeld KNBC 24.4 2. Caroline in the City KNBC 21.3 3. Friends KNBC 21.1 4. 20/20 KABC 18.9 5. Frasier (Thu.) KNBC 18.4 6. Single Guy KNBC 17.7 7. Frasier KNBC 17.3 8. Melrose Place KTTV 17.2 9. 60 Minutes KCBS 17.0 10. Mad About You (Thu.) KNBC 16.8

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Weekly Averages

NBC: 11.4

ABC: 9.6

CBS: 9.2

FOX: 7.3

UPN: 3.7

WB: 2.9

Season to Date

NBC: 11.9

ABC: 10.9

CBS: 9.7

FOX: 7.5

UPN: 3.2

WB: 2.5

Source: A.C. Nielsen