‘Millionaire’ Gives ABC a Jackpot Week

“Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” has clearly been the answer for ABC, pacing the network to its highest-rated week since the “Titanic”-powered 1998 Oscar telecast as well as the lead in the current rating sweeps, based on viewing estimates issued Tuesday by Nielsen Media Research.

As a sign of “Millionaire’s” strength, ABC’s weekly average rose by nearly 25% compared to the corresponding period a year ago. Those gains translated into a rare overall ratings increase for the four major networks.

That said, only a few ABC programs--among them “The Practice” and last week’s live episode of “The Drew Carey Show”--benefited from running next to “Millionaire,” as many viewers tune in for the show and leave almost as quickly. In fact, ABC’s new drama “Once and Again” slipped to a season-low audience, trailing CBS’ “Judging Amy” by a wide margin in its Tuesday slot.

Though ratings for “Millionaire” dipped a bit on Friday and Saturday--nights when general viewing levels tend to be lower--the show rebounded Sunday, which also saw the other networks score respectable ratings for “The X-Files,” CBS’ miniseries “Aftershock: Earthquake in New York” and NBC’s “Mary, Mother of Jesus,” the first of three millennium-inspired productions devoted to that topic.

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. Denver-Seattle Football (Sun.) ESPN 8.95 2. Wrestling (10 p.m. Mon.) USA 6.40 3. Wrestling (9 p.m. Mon.) USA 5.83 4. The Real World MTV 5.42 5. NFL Primetime ESPN 4.70 6. “The Siege” HBO 4.50 7. “Pretty Woman” TBS 4.43 8. Wrestling (10 p.m. Mon.) TNT 4.35 9. “Saving Private Ryan” HBO 4.20 10. Wrestling (7 p.m. Sun.) USA 4.05

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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 ABC 15.99 million 12.08 NBC 13.23 14.08 CBS 12.97 13.14 FOX 9.68 8.92 WB 4.36 4.28 UPN 4.07 3.86

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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. ER KNBC 955,129 2. Friends KNBC 883,237 3. Millionaire (Thur.) KABC 831,886 4. Frasier KNBC 821,616 5. Millioniare (Fri.) KABC 765,130 6. The Drew Carey Show KABC 759,995 7. Millionaire (Sun.) KABC 734,319 8. Millionaire (Tue.) KABC 724,049 9. Millionaire (Wed.) KABC 713,779 10. Ally McBeal KTTV 708,644

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