Nbc On Top Of Ratings

With the Olympic flame doused, things were back to normal in ratings-land.

NBC held onto the No. 1 spot it cinched covering the Summer Games and claimed nine of the week’s Top 10 shows, but its lead wasn’t the crushing victory of the previous two weeks.

For Aug. 5-11, NBC had an 8.8 rating and 17 percent share of the U.S. television audience. CBS edged into second place with a 7.5 rating and 14 share, and ABC scored a 7.4 rating and 14 share.

The Fox Broadcasting Co., with 15 hours of prime time, earned a 4.3 rating and 8 share.

Prime-time ratings as compiled by Nielsen Media Research for Aug. 5-11. Top 10 listings include the week’s ranking, with rating for the week, season-to-date rankings in parentheses, and total homes.

An “X” in parentheses denotes one-time-only presentation. A rating measures the percentage of the nation’s 95.9 million TV homes. Each ratings point represents 959,000 households.

1. (2) “Seinfeld,” NBC, 14.1, 13.5 million homes

2. (X) “3rd Rock From The Sun,” NBC, 13.8, 13.2 million homes

3. (X) “Seinfeld,” NBC, 13.5, 12.9 million homes

4. (X) “3rd Rock From The Sun,” NBC, 12.8, 12.3 million homes

5. (X) “Frasier,” NBC, 12.7, 12.2 million homes

6. (7) “Home Improvement,” ABC, 11.7, 11.2 million homes

6. (1) “ER,” NBC, 11.7, 11.2 million homes

8. (X) “Mad About You,” NBC, 11.4, 10.9 million homes

9. (21) “Dateline NBC,”(Tuesday) NBC, 11.3, 10.8 million homes

10. (X) “Caroline in the City,” NBC, 11.2, 10.7 million homes