Nbc Still At Top Of Ratings

Thu., Nov. 14, 1996

Associated Press

Powered again by its unbeatable Thursday night lineup, NBC won the weekly television ratings race and maintained its dominance for the year.

NBC had an 11.2 rating and 18 share for the week, Nielsen Media Research said on Tuesday. Second-place CBS had a 9.8 rating and a 16 share, narrowly outpointing ABC’s 9.7 rating and 16 share.

The network’s win takes on added importance because it came during the critical November ratings “sweeps” period that networks use to set advertising rates over the coming months.

NBC’s Thursday night lineup gave it the top four shows, led by “ER,” with a 24.9 rating and 41 share. “Seinfeld,” “Suddenly Susan” and “Friends” were second, third and fourth, respectively.

Tuesday night’s schedule was wiped out for the top three networks by election-night coverage, and Fox’s effort to counterprogram the election returns fell flat. The Fox airing of the movie “Beethoven” finished in 56th place.

Fox finished in fourth place for the week with an 8.2 rating and 13 share.

Prime-time ratings as compiled by Nielsen Media Research for Nov. 4-10.

An “X” in parentheses denotes one-time-only presentation. A rating measures the percentage of the nation’s 97 million TV homes. Each ratings point represents 970,000 households.

1. (1) “ER,” NBC, 24.9, 24.2 million homes

2. (2) “Seinfeld,” NBC, 21.6, 21.0 million homes

3. (3) “Suddenly Susan,” NBC, 19.2, 18.6 million homes

4. (5) “Friends,” NBC, 18.0, 17.5 million homes

5. (6) “NBC Sunday Night Movie: Pandora’s Clock, Part 1,” NBC, 16.1, 15.6 million homes

5. (7) “Single Guy,” NBC, 16.1, 15.6 million homes

7. (8) “NFL Monday Night Football,” ABC, 15.9, 15.4 million homes

8. (10) “Touched by an Angel,” CBS, 15.2, 14.7 million homes

9. (11) “60 Minutes,” CBS, 13.8, 13.2 million homes

10. (11) “Cosby,” CBS, 13.2, 12.8 million homes

11. (18) “CBS Sunday Movie: A Step Toward Tomorrow,” CBS, 12.6, 12.2 million homes

12. (13) “20/20,” ABC, 12.4, 12.0 million homes

13. (16) “Drew Carey Show,” ABC, 12.2, 11.8 million homes

14. (23) “Grace Under Fire,” ABC, 11.7, 11.4 million homes

14. (23) “Walker, Texas Ranger,” CBS, 11.7, 11.4 million homes

Local journalism is essential.

Give directly to The Spokesman-Review's Northwest Passages community forums series -- which helps to offset the costs of several reporter and editor positions at the newspaper -- by using the easy options below. Gifts processed in this system are tax deductible.

Meet Our Journalists

Jesse Tinsley

Meet Jesse Tinsley. As a certified drone pilot, this veteran Spokesman-Review photographer often can be seen capturing beautiful aerial photographs of our region. Sometimes though, the job requires getting down with the dogs.
Jim Meehan

Jim Meehan is no stranger to Zag Nation. As the lead writer covering the Gonzaga men’s basketball team, he tells the stories behind the game and gets fans a bit closer to their favorite players.
Molly Quinn

There is no artist in Spokane like Molly Quinn. Her whimsical style is instantly recognizable to readers of The Spokesman-Review. She has painted gorgeous illustrations that instantly elevate the journalism accompanying it. She brings to life the stories that defy photography. She makes our pages better.
Rob Curley

Spokesman-Review editor Rob Curley loves to talk with people and learn about their lives, whether it's a best-selling author or a stranger he meets downtown on his walk to lunch. It's that inquisitive nature combined with a playful sense of storytelling that helps make our newspaper different than most.