Nbc Grabs Top Spot In Weekly Nielsen’s

The usual Thursday suspects and “Asteroid” helped give NBC a huge ratings win last week.

Count ‘em off: The six biggest hits, in order, were customary front-runner “E.R.,” “Seinfeld,” Sunday’s first half of the “Asteroid” blockbuster, then back to NBC’s Must-See Thursday for “Friends,” “Naked Truth” and “Single Guy.”

After that, two CBS series and a pair on ABC rounded out the top 10.

But overall in prime-time for the week of Feb. 10-16, NBC logged a decisive 11.4 in household ratings and a 19 share of viewing audience, according to Nielsen Media Research figures released Wednesday.

That left CBS in a distant second with a 9.5 rating and 16 share, followed closely by ABC’s 9.0 rating and 17 share. Fox was fourth with an 8.0 rating and 13 share, Nielsen said.

In the evening news race, NBC had more to cheer about: “Nightly News” continued its winning ways, placing first for an eighth consecutive week (including one tie), the longest such streak that newscast has enjoyed since 1987.

For the week, “Nightly” scored a 9.0 rating and an 18 share. ABC’s “World News Tonight” placed second with an 8.6 rating and 17 share, while “The CBS Evening News” was in third place with a 7.8 rating and 15 share.

Prime-time ratings as compiled by Nielsen Media Research for Feb. 10-16. 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. (1) “ER,” NBC, 23.7, 23.0 million homes 2. (2) “Seinfeld,” NBC, 21.7, 21.1 million homes 3. (24) “NBC Sunday Night Movie: Asteroid, Pt. 1,” NBC, 19.9, 19.3 million homes 4. (5) “Friends,” NBC, 18.3, 17.8 million homes 4. (3) “Naked Truth,” NBC, 18.3, 17.8 million homes 6. (7) “Single Guy,” NBC, 16.0, 15.5 million homes 7. (10) “Touched By an Angel,” CBS, 13.9, 13.5 million homes 8. (9) “60 Minutes,” CBS, 13.2, 12.8 million homes 9. (12) “NYPD Blue,” ABC, 13.1, 12.7 million homes 9. (11) “20/20,” ABC, 13.1, 12.7 million homes 11. (8) “Home Improvement,” ABC, 12.6, 12.2 million homes 12. (15) “Drew Carey Show,” ABC, 12.3, 11.9 million homes 13. (17) “PrimeTime Live,” ABC, 12.1, 11.7 million homes 14. (15) “Cosby,” CBS, 11.9, 11.5 million homes 15. (19) “Walker, Texas Ranger,” CBS, 11.6, 11.3 million homes 16. “ABC Sunday Night Movie: First Do No Harm,” ABC, 11.2, 10.9 million homes 17. “Fox Tuesday Night Movie: True Lies,” Fox, 11.0, 10.7 million homes 17. (14) “Frasier,” NBC, 11.0, 10.7 million homes 19. (29) “Law & Order,” NBC, 10.9, 10.6 million homes 20. (26) “Cybill,” CBS, 10.8, 10.5 million homes 20. “Ellen,” ABC, 10.8, 10.5 million homes 22. “NBC Monday Night Movies: Love’s Deadly Triangle,” NBC, 10.7 23. “Murphy Brown,” CBS, 10.6 23. “3rd Rock From The Sun,” NBC, 10.6 25. “Chicago Hope,” CBS, 10.5 25. “Diagnosis Murder,” CBS, 10.5 27. “Dateline NBC,” (Tuesday) NBC, 10.4 27. “Mad About You,” NBC, 10.4 29. “Spin City,” ABC, 10.3 29. “X-Files,” Fox, 10.3 31. “3rd Rock From The Sun,” NBC, 10.2 32. “Dateline NBC,” (Friday) NBC, 10.0 33. “King of the Hill,” Fox, 9.9 34. “Caroline in the City,” NBC, 9.8 35. “Coach,” ABC, 9.7 36. “Sabrina, Teenage Witch,” ABC, 9.6 37. “Ink,” CBS, 9.5 37. “Nanny,” CBS, 9.5 39. “Boy Meets World,” ABC, 9.3 39. “Roseanne,” ABC, 9.3 41. “Boston Common,” NBC, 9.1 41. “CBS Sunday Movie: Dave,” CBS, 9.1 43. “Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman,” CBS, 9.0 44. “Family Matters,” ABC, 8.9 44. “Promised Land,” CBS, 8.9 46. (X) “Candid Camera,” CBS, 8.8 47. “Clueless,” ABC, 8.7 47. “Simpsons,” Fox, 8.7 49. “Beverly Hills, 90210,” Fox, 8.6 49. “CBS Wednesday Movie: A Nightmare Come True,” CBS, 8.6