NBC Dominates; the Real Race Is for Second Place

The prime-time television derby is shaping up as a race for second place, with NBC solidly in command while a strengthened CBS leads ABC, based on Nielsen results through the new season’s second week.

Overall ratings for the major networks remain down from last year’s, although there’s some indication of slowing in the wholesale erosion witnessed a year ago.

The networks have room for caution, however, with many new series declining as viewers have sampled programs and have already begun tuning them out.

Figures released Tuesday by Nielsen Media Research showed that NBC again maintained a dominant lead last week, averaging a 20% share of audience and improving its overall rating to an 11.9 (each point represents 970,000 homes), 8% better than a year ago.

That share of audience for the week compared with 17% for CBS, ABC’s 16% and 10% for struggling Fox, which averaged just half as many viewers as NBC.

CBS has made clear strides with a number of key scheduling moves. The network’s 10.3 rating represents an 11% gain from the same week a year ago, when CBS languished in third place.

Yet results for Monday of this week offer reason to temper any enthusiasm, as CBS’ new comedies “Cosby” and “Pearl” continued to slide. “Cosby” scored a 12.4 rating and 20% share of audience--a drop of 17% from its rating a week ago and 28% since the show’s Sept. 16 premiere.

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Even attributing part of that to an unusually strong “Monday Night Football” game and ABC’s introduction of the movie-inspired drama “Dangerous Minds,” CBS is paying so much for “Cosby” that the network can’t be happy with numbers that mirror “The Nanny’s” results in its time period last year.

For its part, ABC had room for cautious optimism with “Dangerous Minds,” which captured 14% of viewers. On the flip side, NBC’s “The Jeff Foxworthy Show” and “Mr. Rhodes” both dropped about 15% off their premieres.

While NBC and CBS have each posted year-to-year gains, ABC and Fox have staggered out of the starting gate with ratings down 18% and 15% last week, respectively, compared to the corresponding period a year ago.

ABC’s results continue a trend that began last season, as aging hits like “Roseanne,” “Coach,” “Family Matters,” “Grace Under Fire” and now “Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman” have become increasingly vulnerable, with viewership down substantially compared to last fall.

What NBC officials described as its boldest scheduling move, meanwhile, appears to be paying dividends. Its three new Saturday dramas have pushed the network into second place that night, though “Dark Skies” and “Profiler” did fade somewhat below their premieres.

By contrast, ABC and Fox opened to disastrous results Saturday. ABC’s new programs, “Common Law” and “Relativity,” attracted only 10% and 12% of viewers, while Fox’s “Married . . . With Children” and newcomer “Love and Marriage” settled for 11% and 6% of the audience, respectively.

A repeat of those numbers could earn “Love and Marriage” a quick hook. Fox has already canceled one new program, “Lush Life,” and pulled another, “Party Girl,” from its schedule.

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Nothing else appears in danger of immediate cancellation, though NBC’s Monday comedies and ABC and Fox’s Saturday lineups will bear watching based on early results.

Nielsen did have good news to report on CBS’ “Early Edition,” which opened Saturday with 20% of the audience, improving on its lead-in from “Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman.”

The show’s success is crucial to maintaining the network’s top-rated position Saturday after moving “Touched by an Angel” to Sunday, where the family drama not only won the 8 p.m. hour but provided an apparent boost to “The Bachelor’s Baby,” a TV movie starring Scott Bakula, which handily won the three-network movie race.

NBC also has reason to celebrate Sundays, as “3rd Rock From the Sun” is performing considerably better than “Mad About You” in its 8 p.m. time period last season.

NBC’s weeklong average benefited from the third-season premiere of “ER,” which raced to the week’s No. 1 ranking and was seen by 34.9 million people. Only one other prime-time program, “Seinfeld,” reached the 30-million plateau.

ABC’s best news came from an unexpected source. “Sabrina, the Teenage Witch” premiered Friday and conjured up 13% more viewers than its lead-in “Family Matters,” nearly doubling the total audience for its competition on CBS, “Everybody Loves Raymond,” a critically lauded show that’s languishing in ratings.

“Sabrina” drew 3.4 million more viewers than the more-heralded new show following it, “Clueless,” which is doing well with children and teenagers but has thus far exhibited scant appeal in adult age brackets.

ABC and CBS are hoping to generate additional sampling the next two weeks, while NBC and Fox televise the major league baseball playoffs. ABC has been reminding viewers that shows like “Beverly Hills, 90210” and “Frasier” will be preempted, touting its lineup as an alternative to those with an aversion to America’s pastime.

Despite its sluggish start, Fox is virtually assured big ratings by televising the World Series later this month. The network can also look forward to broadcasting TV’s most-watched event, the Super Bowl, in January.

All but four of the fall’s 39 new series have now premiered, with Fox’s “Millennium” as well as CBS’ “Public Morals,” “EZ Streets” and the revised “Ink” scheduled to arrive in late October. ABC also brings back “Murder One” next week and “NYPD Blue” on Oct. 15.

After trailing NBC last week, ABC’s “World News Tonight” moved back ahead in the nightly news competition.