‘Morrie’ Shines for ABC, but CBS Takes the Week

Oprah Winfrey regained her Midas touch as the producer of “Tuesdays With Morrie,” but in a week dominated by Christmas specials ABC lost its monthlong hold on first place as fast as you can say “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire,” based on viewing estimates issued Tuesday by Nielsen Media Research.

“Morrie,” starring Jack Lemmon, extends Winfrey’s honor roll of hit ABC movies such as “Before Women Had Wings” and “The Wedding,” after that golden string was broken last year by “David and Lisa.”

ABC nevertheless returned to earth a bit once “Millionaire” mania subsided, with “Spin City” earning its lowest rating since May 1998. By contrast, CBS’ “JAG” flew off with its biggest audience ever, and “Judging Amy” was able to overrule Barbara Walters’ “Ten Most Fascinating People.”

Fox, meanwhile, may need to add to its laundry list of concerns, as “The X-Files” fell to its lowest new-episode rating since the program’s first season, with “Morrie” and TNT’s remake of “A Christmas Carol,” starring Patrick Stewart, no doubt stealing some of its thunder. “Ally McBeal” capitalized on reruns of NBC’s Thursday lineup to achieve a more positive milestone, for the first time ranking No. 1 among adults age 18 to 49, TV’s key sales demographic.

Cable Top 10

Here are Nielsen’s Top 10 cable programs in prime time last week, also ranked by total viewers (in millions).

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Net- View- Program work ers 1. Sunday Night Football ESPN 12.1 2. Wrestling (Mon., 10 p.m.) USA 7.94 3. “A Christmas Carol” TNT 7.52 4. Wrestling (Mon., 9 p.m.) USA 7.38 5. NFL Football (Thurs.) ESPN 7.17 6. “Absolute Power” TBS 6.14 7. NFL Primetime ESPN 5.52 8. Wrestling (Sun., 7 p.m.) USA 4.90 9. Wrestling (Mon., 8 p.m.) TNT 4.50 10. “You’ve Got Mail” HBO 4.40

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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.

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Last Season week to date CBS 13.31 million 13.26 ABC 12.77 12.78 NBC 11.49 13.78 FOX 9.25 9.18 UPN 4.39 3.88 WB 4.02 4.21

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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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Sta- House- Program tion holds 1. “Tuesdays With Morrie” KABC 949,994 2. Frasier KNBC 780,535 3. Ally McBeal KTTV 759,995 4. Will & Grace KNBC 724,049 5. Friends KNBC 693,239 6. “Barbara Walters Presents” KABC 672,698 7. Law & Order KNBC 647,023 8. Jesse KNBC 636,752 9. Stark Raving Mad KNBC 611,077 10. The X-Files KTTV 590,537

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