Nbc Retakes Ratings Lead As Cbs’ Olympic Gold Fades

NBC returned to the top of the television ratings in the first post-Olympic week, although the strong showing of the Grammy Awards helped CBS to a close second.

“ER” and “Seinfeld” were the week’s most-watched programs, Nielsen Media Research said Tuesday.

The unusually raucous Grammy Awards, complete with Bob Dylan’s unexpected dance accompanist and a stage-crashing rapper, scored its highest ratings since 1993. It also drew CBS’ best ratings for any Wednesday night in five years.

For the week, NBC finished with a 10.8 rating and 18 share, compared to CBS’ 10.7 rating and 17 share. ABC was third with an 8.4 rating and 14 share, followed by Fox’s 7.7 rating and 12 share.

The “NBC Nightly News” was the easy winner among network news programs with a 9.1 rating and 18 share, followed by ABC’s “World News Tonight,” which had an 8.5 rating and 17 share. CBS had an 8.4 rating and 17 share.

Here are prime-time ratings as compiled by Nielsen Media Research for Feb. 23-March 1. Top 10 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 a one-time-only presentation. The rating is the percentage of the nation’s estimated 98 million TV homes. Each ratings point represents 980,000 households.

1. (1) “ER,” NBC, 22.2, 21.7 million homes.

2. (2) “Seinfeld,” NBC, 20.7, 20.2 million homes.

3. (3) “Veronica’s Closet,” NBC, 17.1, 16.7 million homes.

4. (X) “40th Annual Grammy Awards,” CBS, 17.0, 16.6 million homes.

5. (4) “Friends,” NBC, 16.5, 16.1 million homes.

6. (8) “CBS Sunday Movie: The Long Way Home,” CBS, 15.7, 15.3 million homes.

7. (X) “Oprah Winfrey Presents: The Wedding, Part 2,” ABC, 15.6, 15.2 million homes.

8. (7) “60 Minutes,” CBS, 15.5, 15.1 million homes.

9. “Just Shoot Me,” NBC, 15.0, 14.7 million homes.

10. (10) “Home Improvement,” ABC, 14.7, 14.4 million homes.

11. (6) “Touched by an Angel,” CBS, 14.4

12. “Frasier,” NBC, 12.6

12. “X-Files,” Fox, 12.6

14. “Dateline NBC-Tuesday,” NBC, 12.0

15. “NBC Sunday Night Movie: Braveheart,” NBC, 11.9

16. “NYPD Blue,” ABC, 11.7

17. “King of the Hill,” Fox, 11.4

18. (X) “Home Improvement,” ABC, 11.3

19. (X) “Just Shoot Me,” NBC, 11.2

20. “The Closer,” CBS, 10.9