For CBS, Winter Olympics Isn’t All Downhill

CBS’ Winter Olympics coverage has received decidedly mixed scores from the ratings judges, falling well short of expectations but still dominating the ratings race, based on results for last week issued Wednesday by Nielsen Media Research.

Even failing to meet pre-Olympic estimates, the Games have nearly doubled CBS’ prime-time average this season and last week surpassed the combined audience for any two competing networks.

In general, younger-skewing programs such as Fox’s “King of the Hill,” “Melrose Place” and “The X-Files,” ABC’s “The Drew Carey Show” and “Sabrina, the Teenage Witch,” and the WB’s “Dawson’s Creek” best weathered the Olympic storm. ABC has fared worst in countering the Olympics, ranking fourth the last two weeks; by contrast, Fox’s aggressive challenge earned a silver-medal finish among adults 18-49, the primary age group sought by advertisers.

NBC bailed out a bit last week by offering reruns of “Seinfeld” and “Friends,” plus the two-hour pilot that launched “ER.” Fox also helped its cause with a special about the blockbuster movie “Titanic,” sailing off with ratings roughly 40% higher than what “Millennium” averages in the same Friday time slot.

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Network Averages

Here is the number of viewers that each network averaged per hour of prime time, for last week and for the season.

Last Week

CBS: 25.91 million

NBC: 11.60

FOX: 10.78

ABC: 10.73

WB: 4.83

UPN: 3.58

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Season to Date

NBC: 15.48 million

CBS: 14.23

ABC: 12.64

FOX: 10.70

WB: 4.48

UPN: 4.19

Southland Viewing

Here are Nielsen’s Top 10 prime-time programs in the Los Angeles area during the same week. The rankings are based on the number of households watching.

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Program Station Households 1. 60 Minutes KCBS 1,051,938 2. Friends KNBC 761,403 3. The X-Files KTTV 731,348 4. Seinfeld KNBC 721,329 5. ER KNBC 716,320 6. Melrose Place KTTV 596,098 Beverly Hills, 90210 KTTV 596,098 King of the Hill KTTV 596,098 9. Home Improvement KABC 591,089 10. Party of Five KTTV 586,080 The Simpsons KTTV 586,080

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