‘Frasier’ Hits Home Run; Fox Bunts Its Way to Win

Fox was left with only a small token to show for the subway World Series, which attracted record-low tune-in but nevertheless hoisted the network to a narrow first-place finish for the week, based on viewing estimates issued Tuesday by Nielsen Media Research.

NBC’s Thursday lineup lost some steam against the deciding Game 5, while “Must-See TV” mainstay “Frasier,” starring Kelsey Grammer, began its eighth season by delivering its largest season-premiere audience ever despite moving back to Tuesday nights.

ABC, meanwhile, is springing leaks. Its new drama “Gideon’s Crossing” was manhandled by “Law & Order,” “The Geena Davis Show” didn’t exhibit legs against the hourlong “Frasier,” and “Spin City” yielded 14% of viewers watching “The Drew Carey Show” in the preceding half-hour, as Martin is clearly getting the better of Charlie in the Wednesday-night war of the Sheens.

General Electric Chairman Jack Welch also engaged in a bit of civil warfare, giving an exclusive interview to CBS’ “60 Minutes,” which more than doubled the audience for G.E.-owned NBC’s “Dateline” in the same hour Sunday. NBC’s new drama “Ed,” however, did rebound to score solid ratings at 8 p.m.

CBS’ “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” also continues to draw impressive numbers on Fridays, where UPN got off to a mild start with the debut of the new action shows “Freedom” and “Level 9.”

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 8.24 2. Wrestling (Mon., 10 p.m.) TNN 7.11 3. Wrestling (Mon., 9 p.m.) TNN 6.10 4. NFL Primetime ESPN 4.87 5. “Spawn” TBS 4.30 6. As Told by Ginger NICK 3.32 7. Sex and the City (9:30 p.m.) HBO 3.30 8. Sex and the City HBO 3.09 9. “House on Haunted Hill” HBO 3.08 10. Rocket Power NICK 3.04

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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 FOX 12.89 million 10.48 NBC 12.82 12.19 CBS 12.26 12.70 ABC 11.82 13.03 WB 4.64 4.38 UPN 4.07 4.45

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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. Frasier KNBC 1,113,944 2. World Series Postgame 5 KTTV 1,006,834 3. Friends KNBC 980,057 4. The West Wing KNBC 878,302 5. ER KNBC 856,880 6. Will & Grace KNBC 808,681 7. Law & Order KNBC 797,970 8. Cursed KNBC 733,704 9. 60 Minutes KCBS 717,637 10. Just Shoot Me KNBC 685,504

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