Nbc Claims Top Ratings For 14th Straight Week

NBC, with seven of the week’s Top 10 shows, claimed victory Tuesday for a 14th consecutive prime-time week and for the February ratings sweep.

The February sweep, one of three monthlong periods of intensive audience measurement that help local stations set advertising rates, officially concluded on Wednesday.

“We were No. 1 in all the key sales demographics, and that’s all that matters,” said Preston Beckman, NBC’s senior vice president for program planning and scheduling.

For the February sweep, NBC won with a 12.3 rating, 20 share. CBS edged ABC for second place with a 10.3 rating, 17 share, to ABC’s 10.1 rating, 16 share. Fox had a 7.9 rating, 13 share.

Although TV’s top five shows represent NBC’s Thursday night powerhouse, “It’s not just Thursday night and sayonara,” said NBC’s West Coast President Don Ohlmeyer. “We’ve had (ratings) growth on four nights of the week … Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday.”

For the week of Feb. 19-25, NBC soared with a 12.0 rating and a 19 percent share of the prime-time audience. ABC was second, with a 10.8 rating and an 18 share. CBS showed with a 9.9 rating, 16 share. Fox, programming only 15 of the 22 prime-time hours, earned a 7.5 rating, 12 share.

Top 10 shows for week

Prime-time ratings as compiled by Nielsen Media Research are for Feb. 19-25. Listings include the week’s ranking, with season-to-date rankings in parentheses, rating for the week 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. (1) “ER,” NBC, 24.5, 23.5 million homes.

2. (2) “Seinfeld,” NBC, 22.2, 21.3 million homes.

3. (3) “Friends,” NBC, 20.0, 19.2 million homes.

4. (4) “Caroline in the City,” NBC, 18.9, 18.1 million homes.

5. (6) “Single Guy,” NBC, 17.2, 16.5 million homes.

6. (7) “Home Improvement,” ABC, 16.5, 15.8 million homes.

7. (9) “60 Minutes,” CBS, 16.4, 15.7 million homes.

8. (12) “20/20,” ABC, 15.4, 14.8 million homes.

9. (17) “NBC Monday Night Movie: A Secret Between Friends,” NBC, 14.7, 14.1 million homes.

10. (10) “Frasier,” NBC, 14.5, 13.9 million homes.