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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Nbc Maintains Ratings Lead; Cbs Repeats At No. 2 Spot

Associated Press

NBC maintained a seven-week grip on the weekly ratings lead while CBS finished a convincing second with the help of “The Thorn Birds” miniseries and “60 Minutes.”

CBS climbed out of the Big Three network cellar for the second week in a row, again displacing ABC, according to figures Wednesday from Nielsen Media Research.

For the week of Feb. 12-18, NBC earned an 11.2 average rating and an 18 share as it fielded the top five programs, led by the hospital drama “ER” and the comedy “Seinfeld.”

CBS had a 10.2 rating and 17 share, followed by ABC’s 9.7 rating and 16 share, Nielsen said.

Fox Broadcasting Co., which programs 15 of the 22 prime-time hours, had a 7.9 rating and 13 share.

For CBS, second to NBC in the sweeps so far, the concluding chapter of “The Thorn Birds: The Missing Years” proved a blessing as it came in 14th for the week.

Prime-time ratings as compiled by Nielsen Media Research for Feb. 12-18. 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 a 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. (1) “ER,” NBC, 25.8, 24.7 million homes.

2. (2) “Seinfeld,” NBC, 21.9, 21.0 million homes.

3. (3) “Friends,” NBC, 21.1, 20.2 million homes.

4. (4) “Caroline in the City,” NBC, 19.1, 18.3 million homes.

5. (6) “Single Guy,” NBC, 17.3, 16.6 million homes.

6. (7) “Home Improvement,” ABC, 14.5, 13.9 million homes.

7. (11) “Frasier,” NBC, 14.3, 13.7 million homes.

8. (9) “60 Minutes,” CBS, 14.2, 13.6 million homes.

9. (8) “NYPD Blue,” ABC, 14.1, 13.5 million homes.

10. (14) “20/20,” ABC, 14.0, 13.4 million homes.

11. (19) “Chicago Hope,” CBS, 13.1, 12.6 million homes.

11. (13) “Grace Under Fire,” ABC, 13.1, 12.6 million homes.

11. (21) “Walker, Texas Ranger,” CBS, 13.1, 12.6 million homes.

14. “CBS Tuesday Movie: The Thorn Birds: The Missing Years, Part 2,” CBS, 12.9, 12.4 million homes.

15. (15) “Nanny,” CBS, 12.8, 12.3 million homes.

16. (X) “Grace Under Fire,” ABC, 12.4, 11.9 million homes.

17. “Touched by an Angel,” CBS, 12.1, 11.6 million homes.

18. (12) “3rd Rock From The Sun,” NBC, 11.7, 11.2 million homes.

19. “John Larroquette Show,” NBC, 11.6, 11.1 million homes.

19. (33) “Lois & Clark,” ABC, 11.6, 11.1 million homes.

19. (15) “Murphy Brown,” CBS, 11.6, 11.1 million homes.