‘Dateline’ Helps Nbc Win Week’s Nielsen Ratings Battle

Fri., June 27, 1997

Associated Press

NBC can thank its news division as much as its blockbuster Thursday night schedule for another weekly win in the Nielsen Media Research rankings.

Three editions of the newsmagazine “Dateline NBC” were ranked among last week’s top 13 programs, Nielsen said. The Monday show finished second for the week, and the Tuesday show was fourth.

NBC finished the week with an 8.1 rating and 15 share. CBS was second with a 6.8 rating and 13 share, followed by ABC’s 6.3 rating and 12 share. Fox had a 4.6 rating and 9 share.

Newsmagazines accounted for six of the top 13 programs as viewers searched for new programming in a week clogged with reruns.

As the evening news programs prepare to cover Hong Kong’s switch from British to Chinese rule, ABC is on a roll. Its “World News Tonight” won the ratings race for the sixth consecutive week with a 7.2 rating and 17 share. The “NBC Nightly News” had a 6.9 rating and 16 share, followed by “The CBS Evening News” with a 6.3 rating and 15 share.

Here are prime-time ratings as compiled by Nielsen Media Research for June 16-22. Listings include the week’s ranking, with rating for the week, season-to-date rankings in parentheses, and total homes.

A rating measures the percentage of the nation’s 97.0 million TV homes. Each ratings point represents 970,000 households.

1. (2) “Seinfeld,” NBC, 14.0, 13.6 million homes.

2. (16) “Dateline NBC,” (Monday) NBC, 12.2, 11.8 million homes.

3. (1) “ER,” NBC, 12.1, 11.7 million homes.

4. (18) “Dateline NBC,” (Tuesday) NBC, 11.5, 11.2 million homes.

5. (5) “Suddenly Susan,” NBC, 11.3, 11.0 million homes.

5. (12) “20/20,” ABC, 11.3, 11.0 million homes.

7. (13) “PrimeTime Live,” ABC, 10.6, 10.3 million homes.

8. (11) “60 Minutes,” CBS, 10.0, 9.7 million homes.

9. (10) “Touched by an Angel,” CBS, 9.9, 9.6 million homes.

10. (17) “Frasier,” NBC, 9.7, 9.4 million homes.

10. (7) “Friends,” NBC, 9.7, 9.4 million homes.

12. “Men Behaving Badly,” NBC, 9.3, 9.0 million homes.

13. “Dateline NBC,” (Friday) NBC, 9.1, 8.8 million homes.

14. (25) “Caroline in the City,” NBC, 9.0, 8.7 million homes.

14. (9) “Home Improvement,” ABC, 9.0, 8.7 million homes.

16. (25) “NBC Monday Night Movies: Twisted Desire,” NBC, 8.9, 8.6 million homes.

17. (20) “Drew Carey Show,” ABC, 8.7, 8.4 million homes.

18. (18) “Spin City,” ABC, 8.6, 8.3 million homes.

19. (22) “NBC Sunday Night Movie: Honeymoon In Vegas,” NBC, 8.5, 8.2 million homes.

20. “ABC Sunday Night Movie: Someone Else’s Child,” ABC, 8.2, 7.9 million homes.

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