Abc Edges Nbc In Weekly Ratings

NBC’s Thursday lineup finished 1995 atop the ratings, but ABC’s No. 3 “Monday Night Football” lifted the Alphabet Network to prime-time victory despite the traditional low viewership of the holiday week.

Except for the Dallas-Arizona football game and ABC’s “20/20,” the rest of the Top 10 shows were repeats.

For the week of Dec. 25-31, ABC averaged a 9.2 rating and a 17 percent share of the TV audience, just ahead of NBC’s 9.1 rating, 17 share; CBS had an 8.0 rating, 15 share - just 54 percent of the U.S. audience.

A single ratings point equals 595,000 TV homes, or 1 percent of the nation’s 95.9 million TV households, estimated by Nielsen Media Research. Share is the percentage of sets tuned in during a given period.

The Fox Broadcasting Co., which programs only 15 of the 22 prime-time hours, earned a 5.4 rating, 10 share.

ABC’s “World News Tonight” held its lock as the top-rated evening newscast with a 9.7 rating, 16 share. NBC’s “Nightly News” had an 8.9, 17 share, and CBS’ “Evening News” trailed with a 7.7 rating, 16 share.

Here are prime-time ratings as compiled by Nielsen Media Research for Dec. 25-31. The 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.

1. (1) “ER,” NBC, 16.8, 16.1 million homes.

2. (2) “Seinfeld,” NBC, 16.3, 15.6 million homes.

3. (5) “NFL Monday Night Football,” ABC, 15.5, 14.9 million homes.

4. (3) “Friends,” NBC, 15.2, 14.6 million homes.

5. (4) “Caroline in the City,” NBC, 13.7, 13.1 million homes.

6. (11) “Grace Under Fire,” ABC, 13.4, 12.8 million homes.

7. (6) “Home Improvement,” ABC, 12.8, 12.2 million homes.

8. (6) “Single Guy,” NBC, 12.7, 12.2 million homes.

9. “NFL on NBC Postgame: Indianapolis at San Diego,” NBC, 12.4, 11.9 million homes..

10. (12) “20/20,” ABC, 12.3, 11.8 million homes.

11. (10) “60 Minutes,” CBS, 11.6, 11.2 million homes.

12. (25) “Ellen,” ABC, 11.5, 11.0 million homes.

13. (9) “Coach,” ABC, 10.9, 10.4 million homes.

13. “Naked Truth,” ABC, 10.9, 10.4 million homes.

15. “Drew Carey Show,” ABC, 10.8, 10.3 million homes.

15. (17) “PrimeTime Live,” ABC, 10.8, 10.3 million homes.

17. “Family Matters,” ABC, 10.6, 10.2 million homes.

17. (13) “Frasier,” NBC, 10.6, 10.5 million homes.

19. (30) “Dateline NBC” (Wed), NBC, 10.5, 10.1 million homes.

19. (14) “Roseanne,” ABC, 10.5, 10.1 million homes.

21. “Dateline NBC” (Tuesday), NBC, 10.4.

22. “Law & Order,” NBC, 10.3.

23. “Walker, Texas Ranger,” CBS, 10.2.

24. “NYPD Blue,” ABC, 10.1.

25. “Touched by an Angel,” CBS, 9.8.

26. “Boy Meets World, ” ABC, 9.7 .

27. “CBS Tuesday Movie: Deadly Whispers,” CBS, 9.2.

28. “48 Hours,” CBS, 9.0.

28. “John Larroquette Show,” NBC, 9.0.

30. “Hudson Street,” ABC, 8.9.

30. “NewsRadio,” NBC, 8.9.

30. “Step by Step,” ABC, 8.9.

33. “Wings,” NBC, 8.8.

34. “Dateline NBC” (Friday), NBC, 8.7.

35. “Unsolved Mysteries,” NBC, 8.5.

36. “Diagnosis Murder,” CBS, 8.4.

37. “ABC Thursday Night Movie: How The West Was Fun,” ABC, 8.3.

37. “Mad About You,” NBC, 8.3.

39. “Dave’s World,” CBS, 8.2.

39. “NBC Saturday Night Movie: My Girl,” NBC, 8.2.

39. “X-Files,” Fox, 8.2.

42. “CBS Sunday Movie: This Can’t Be Love,” CBS, 8.1.

42. “Fox Tuesday Night Movie: Housesitter,” Fox, 8.1.

44. “Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman,” CBS, 8.0.

44. “Jeff Foxworthy Show,” ABC, 8.0.

46. “CBS Special Movie-Monday: ET, The Extra-Terrestrial,” CBS, 7.8.

46. “Hangin’ With Mr. Cooper,” ABC, 7.8.

48. “Bless This House,” CBS, 7.6.

49. “Disney’s Hits On Ice,”CBS, 7.5.

50. “NBC Monday Night Movies: Benny and Joon,” NBC, 7.2.

51. “Client,” CBS, 7.1.

51. “King Orange Jamboree,” CBS, 7.1.

53. “Saturday Night At The Movies: Ernest Rides Again,” ABC, 7.0.

54. “NBC Sunday Night Movie: Final Analysis,” NBC, 6.9.

55. “Homecide: Life On The Street,” NBC, 6.8.

55. “Maybe This Time,” ABC, 6.8.

57. “Cops 2,” Fox, 6.5.

58. “Kennedy Center Honors,” CBS, 6.3.

58. “Living Single,” Fox, 6.3.

58. “Marshal,” ABC, 6.3 .

58. “seaQuest 2032,” NBC, 6.3.

58. “Sugar Bowl,” ABC, 6.3.

63. “Cops,” Fox, 6.2.

64. “Time-Lost Civilizations,” NBC, 6.1.

65. “Due South,” CBS, 6.0.

65. “Picket Fences,” CBS, 6.0.

67. “Crew,” Fox, 5.9.

68. “Dave’s World Special,” CBS, 5.7.

69. “America’s Most Wanted,” Fox, 5.4.

69. “Fresh Prince of Bel Air,” NBC, 5.4.

69. “Jag Special,” NBC, 5.4.

69. “Strange Luck,” Fox, 5.4.

73. “Married…With Children,” Fox, 5.3.

74. “Simpsons,” Fox, 4.8.

75. “ABC World Of Discovery,” ABC, 4.7.