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CBS Ekes Out Nielsen Victory
Associated Press - October 14, 1999
By David Bauder
AP Television Writer
(NEW YORK) NBC had the three most popular shows last week but CBS, buoyed by its two new legal dramas, managed a narrow victory in the Nielsen Media Research ratings.
With summer's end, viewers are returning to "ER" in droves. NBC's Thursday night medical drama was the most-watched show by a wide margin, with nearly 7 million more viewers than
second-place "Friends."
"Frasier" came in third place for the week, Nielsen said Tuesday.
For the week, CBS had a 9.1 rating and 15 share. NBC was second with a 9.0 rating and 15 share, ABC had an 8.1 rating and 13 share and Fox was at 6.1 and 10.
CBS and NBC seem headed for a particularly heated competition this year. They tied for the ratings crown last week and only one-tenth of a ratings point separates them for the season so far. NBC
has a much wider lead among 18-to-49-year-old viewers.
CBS's new "Judging Amy" cracked the Nielsen top 10, the network's highest-rated entertainment show after "Touched By an Angel." CBS's other new legal drama, "Family
Law," finished a solid 18th place.
Two shows with identical 4.9 ratings last week have far different outlooks. Fox's "Harsh Realm," produced by Chris Carter, was a disappointing fourth in its time slot for its premiere.
Meanwhile, the WB's "Roswell" was extremely promising in its debut, finishing as the network's most-watched show after "7th Heaven."
The WB had a 3.4 rating and 6 share for the week, UPN had a 2.7 rating and 4 share and Pax TV had a 0.7 rating and 1 share.
The "NBC Nightly News" won the evening news ratings race with a 7.2 rating and 15 share. ABC's "World News Tonight" was second with a 7.0 rating and 15 share, while the
"CBS Evening News" had a 6.3 rating and 13 share.
A rating point represents 1,008,000 households, or 1 percent of the nation's estimated 100.8 million TV homes. The share is the percentage of in-use televisions tuned to a given show.
For the week of Oct. 4-10, the top 10 shows, their networks and ratings were:
"ER," NBC, 19.5; "Friends," NBC, 14.9; "Frasier," NBC, 14.7; "NFL Monday Night Football: Buffalo at Miami," ABC, 14.0; "60 Minutes," CBS, 12.9;
"Law and Order," NBC 12.5; "Jesse," NBC, 12.2; "Stark Raving Mad," NBC, 12.2; "Touched By an Angel," CBS, 11.5; "Judging Amy," CBS, 11.4.
Copyright © 1999 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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