Cbs Pulls Ahead Of Nbc With Help From An ‘Angel’

With the Sunday night drama, “Touched By an Angel,” drawing its biggest audience ever, resurgent CBS earned a victory in the weekly ratings competition.

CBS simply managed to hold its own with viewers during a week the other three major networks all had fewer people watching than usual, Nielsen Media Research said Tuesday.

“Touched By an Angel” finished in third place for the week, the highest rated drama in the Nielsen measurements. “It just keeps building every week,” said CBS spokesman Michael Silver.

For the week, CBS had a 9.7 rating and 16 share, Nielsen said. The season-leader NBC had a 9.4 rating and 16 share, followed by ABC’s 8.0 rating and 14 share, and Fox’s 7.7 rating and 13 share.

NBC sorely felt the absence of “ER,” the year’s top-rated show, from its Thursday night lineup. Its temporary replacement, “Prince Street,” finished in 15th place for the week but drew just over half of a typical “ER” audience.

Led by “Cybill,” CBS’s four Monday night comedies all finished within the week’s top 13 shows. ABC’s “Arsenio” had a strong debut, finishing in 21st place for the week, and the network’s new drama, “The Practice,” also had an impressive showing.

Some other new shows did less well. NBC’s new comedy, “Just Shoot Me,” finished in 50th place for the week, and Fox’s “Pauly” was 68th. CBS’s “EZ Streets,” which has received critical raves, was in 72nd place.

Prime-time ratings as compiled by Nielsen Media Research for March 3-9. Top 20 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 97.0 million TV homes. Each ratings point represents 970,000 households.

1. (2) “Seinfeld,” NBC, 20.4, 19.8 million homes

2. (5) “Friends,” NBC, 17.5, 17.0 million homes

3. (10) “Touched by an Angel,” CBS, 16.6, 16.1 million homes

4. (3) “Suddenly Susan,” NBC, 16.4, 15.9 million homes

5. (22) “3rd Rock From the Sun,” (Thursday) NBC, 15.9, 15.4 million homes

6. (9) “60 Minutes,” CBS, 14.7, 14.3 million homes

7. (19) “CBS Sunday Movie: To Dance With Olivia,” CBS, 14.3, 13.9 million homes

8. (8) “Home Improvement,” ABC, 13.0, 12.6 million homes

9. (11) “20/20,” ABC, 12.8, 12.4 million homes

10. “Cybill,” CBS, 12.7, 12.3 million homes

11. (17) “Cosby,” CBS, 12.3, 11.9 million homes

12. “Everybody Loves Raymond,” CBS, 12.1, 11.7 million homes

13. (17) “Drew Carey Show,” ABC, 11.7, 11.4 million homes

13. “Ink,” CBS, 11.7, 11.4 million homes

15. (20) “Dateline NBC,” (Tuesday) NBC, 11.6, 11.3 million homes

15. (X) “Prince Street” (special) NBC, 11.6, 11.3 million homes

17. “The Practice,” ABC, 11.3, 11.0 million homes

18. (13) “Spin City,” ABC, 11.2, 10.9 million homes

19. (14) “Frasier,” NBC, 11.1, 10.8 million homes

20. (16) “PrimeTime Live,” ABC, 10.9, 10.6 million homes

21. “Arsenio,” ABC, 10.6

22. “X-Files,” Fox, 10.5

23. “Walker, Texas Ranger,” CBS, 10.4

24. “CBS Tuesday Movie: When the Cradle Falls,” CBS, 10.2

24. “Just Shoot Me” (special) NBC, 10.2

24. “3rd Rock From the Sun,” (Sunday) NBC, 10.2

27. “Mad About You,” NBC, 9.9

28. (X) “Dateline NBC,” (Wednesday) NBC, 9.8

29. “Fox Tuesday Night Movie: Sister Act 2,” Fox, 9.5

29. “Mad About You,” (special) NBC, 9.5

31. “NBC Monday Night Movie: Lethal Weapon 2,” NBC, 9.4

32. “Roseanne,” ABC, 9.3

33. “Dateline NBC,” (Friday) NBC, 9.0

33. “Sabrina The Teenage Witch,” ABC, 9.0

33. “Turning Point,” ABC, 9.0

36. “Promised Land,” CBS, 8.9

37. “Melrose Place,” Fox, 8.8

37. “NBC Sunday Night Movie: Murder Live,” NBC, 8.8

37. “Step by Step,” ABC, 8.8

40. “Beverly Hills, 90210,” Fox, 8.7