Nbc On Top Of Weekly Ratings; Cbs Close Second

Thu., Feb. 13, 1997

David Bauder Associated Press

It may not rival NBC’s “must-see TV” yet, but CBS’s increasingly strong Sunday night lineup was a big boost for the network last week in a tight three-way ratings struggle.

Three programs aired by CBS on Sunday night finished among the week’s top 10 rated shows, following NBC’s powerful Thursday night lineup, Nielsen Media Research reported.

NBC continued its season domination by winning the week with a 10.5 rating and 17 share. CBS was second with a 10.3 rating and 17 share, followed by ABC’s 10.1 rating and 17 share. Fox was fourth with a 7.4 rating and 12 share.

A rating point represents 970,000 households, or 1 percent of the nation’s estimated 97 million TV homes. The share is the percentage of televisions in use and tuned to a show during a certain time period.

Prime-time ratings as compiled by Nielsen Media Research for Feb. 3-9. Top 20 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. (1) “ER,” NBC, 23.3, 22.6 million homes

2. (2) “Seinfeld,” NBC, 22.2, 21.5 million homes

3. (5) “Friends,” NBC, 19.0, 18.4 million homes

4. (3) “Naked Truth,” NBC, 17.1, 16.6 million homes

5. (7) “Single Guy,” NBC, 16.6, 16.1 million homes

6. (9) “60 Minutes,” CBS, 15.1, 14.7 million homes

7. (10) “Touched by an Angel,” CBS, 14.6, 14.2 million homes

8. (17) “CBS Sunday Movie: Old Man,” CBS, 14.2, 13.8 million homes

9. (11) “20/20,” ABC, 13.5, 13.1 million homes

10. (34) “ABC Monday Night Movie: Clear and Present Danger,” ABC, 12.6, 12.2 million homes

11. (15) “Drew Carey Show,” ABC, 12.1, 11.7 million homes

12. (28) “Dateline NBC (Friday),” NBC, 11.6, 11.3 million homes

13. (17) “X-Files,” Fox, 11.5, 11.2 million homes

14. (15) “Cosby,” CBS, 11.3, 11.0 million homes

15. (X) “NBA All Star Game,” NBC, 11.2, 10.9 million homes

15. (17) “PrimeTime Live,” ABC, 11.2, 10.9 million homes

17. “Diagnosis Murder” CBS, 11.1, 10.8 million homes

18. (21) “Walker, Texas Ranger,” CBS, 11.0, 10.7 million homes

19. (30) “Chicago Hope,” CBS, 10.9, 10.6 million homes

20. “Ellen,” ABC, 10.7, 10.4 million homes