Arrow-right Camera
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Basketball Helps Cbs Net Top Weekly Ratings

David Bauder Associated Press

A riveting NCAA men’s basketball championship between Arizona and Kentucky was last week’s most-watched television program, enabling CBS to narrowly edge NBC in the ratings race.

CBS’s 9.4 rating and 16 share was identical to NBC’s score, but Nielsen Media Research estimated there were more people watching CBS shows for the week.

The NCAA finals drew an 18.9 rating and 31 share. That was a slight rebound from the 1996 game between Kentucky and Syracuse, the lowest-rated basketball championship game since 1975, Nielsen said.

Dismal ratings for “EZ Streets,” the critically-acclaimed CBS drama, showed why it has been canceled. It was the week’s lowest-rated show among any program on the top three networks.

For the week, ABC was third with an 8.3 rating and 14 share, followed by Fox’s 6.1 rating and 10 share.

Prime-time ratings as compiled by Nielsen Media Research for March 31 - April 6. Listings include the week’s ranking (season-to-date rankings in parentheses), with rating for the week and total homes. An “X” in parentheses denotes one-time-only presentation.

1. (X) “CBS NCAA Basketball Championship: Arizona vs Kentucky,” CBS, 18.9, 18.3 million homes

2. (2) “Seinfeld,” NBC, 18.5, 17.9 million homes

3. (5) “Naked Truth,” NBC, 15.3, 14.8 million homes

4. (1) “ER,” NBC, 14.5, 14.1 million homes

4. (4) “Friends,” NBC, 14.5, 14.1 million homes

6. (8) “Home Improvement,” ABC, 14.1, 13.7 million homes

6. (X) “Naked Truth,” NBC, 14.1, 13.7 million homes

8. “Prelude to a Championship,” CBS, 13.3, 12.9 million homes

8. (9) “60 Minutes,” CBS, 13.3, 12.9 million homes

10. (18) “Dateline NBC (Tuesday),” NBC, 12.5, 12.1 million homes

11. (10) “Touched by an Angel,” CBS, 12.4, 12 million homes

12. (11) “20/20,” ABC, 12.3, 11.9 million homes

13. (13) “Frasier,” NBC, 11.8, 11.5 million homes

14. (13) “Spin City,” ABC, 11.7, 11.4 million homes

15. (X) “CBS NCAA Basketball Championship Post Game,” CBS, 11.6, 11.3 million homes

16. (18) “CBS Sunday Movie: The Inheritance,” CBS, 11.5, 11.2 million homes

17. (15) “PrimeTime Live,” ABC, 11.3, 11 million homes

18. “Caroline in the City,” NBC, 11.0, 10.7 million homes

18. (16) “Drew Carey Show,” ABC, 11.0, 10.7 million homes

20. “Dateline NBC,” NBC, 10.7, 10.4 million homes

20. “Law & Order,” NBC, 10.7, 10.4 million homes