Fall TV: Prime-Time Profile

Wednesday’s Results: CBS’ strategy of appealing to an older audience is resulting in bigger ratings for the network during premiere week, as “The Nanny” grounded “Wings” and even took some zip off of “Beverly Hills, 90210.”

ABC still solidly won the new TV season’s first Wednesday--a night considered to be up for grabs--leaving NBC well out of the running.

CBS officials were elated by “The Nanny” and “Pearl” ranking first from 8-9 p.m., something the network hasn’t accomplished on Wednesdays in more than 18 months.

“The Nanny” delivered a 10.9 Nielsen rating (each point equals 970,000 homes) and 19% of the audience. Exhibiting little benefit from recent publicity, “Ellen” ran second with an 8.9 rating and 15% audience share, while NBC’s “Wings” and Fox’s “90210” each settled for just 13% of viewers--with the latter’s rating off 26% compared to the same week a year ago.

“Ellen” did beat “The Nanny” among the younger viewers sought by advertisers, and ABC’s “Grace Under Fire” was still the night’s highest-rated program, with a 13.1 rating and 21% audience share.

Two premiering comedies performed relatively well. NBC’s heavily promoted “Men Behaving Badly” actually improved considerably on the rating of the show preceding it, “NewsRadio”--a rare feat for new programs, though not enough to catch “The Drew Carey Show,” which retained more than 95% of the “Grace” audience. NBC would undoubtedly consider flopping its two shows, putting “Men” opposite “Grace Under Fire,” if that scenario continues.

Similarly, ABC’s Molly Ringwald comedy “Townies” improved on “Ellen’s” audience at 8:30 but still narrowly trailed “Pearl,” which performed double duty this week by airing both Monday and Wednesday.

PBS’ documentary “The West,” meanwhile, has gradually slowed against the big network guns, averaging 6% of the audience through its first four nights.

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Tonight’s Highlights: ABC hopes to breathe some life into its Friday lineup, attracting more young adults and teenagers, with “Clueless” and “Sabrina, the Teenage Witch” (which arrives next week). Its comedies “Family Matters”--which begins its eighth season--and “Boy Meets World” remain popular primarily with children but have seen their adult audiences dwindle in recent years.

CBS’ new spy series “Mr. & Mrs. Smith” could benefit a bit initially by facing repeats of usual time-period winner “The X-Files,” which doesn’t begin its fourth season until Oct. 4.

NBC’s Friday lineup returns unchanged, including “Homicide” and the ninth year of “Unsolved Mysteries.” CBS’ “Nash Bridges” and Fox’s “Sliders” also return for their second and third seasons, respectively.