ABC takes ratings sweeps behind ``Millionaire'' again
Its network rivals, to blunt the impact of a sweeps month loss, point out
that ABC's success was almost solely attributable to one show, since
``Millionaire'' accounted for 18 percent of the network's prime-time schedule in
February.
``Had I had `Millionaire,'' I would have had it on 25 percent of my
schedule,'' CBS President Leslie Moonves said Tuesday. ABC executives said
there's strength elsewhere on ABC's schedule, too.
``All things have to fall,'' top NBC researcher Alan Wurtzel said. ``At some
point, there will be a saturation. It's just that nobody knows exactly when.''
Not last week, plainly. All five ``Millionaire'' editions drew between 23
million and 29 million viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research.
Yet the game show isn't necessarily destroying everything in its path. CBS
had the best ratings since 1993 for its telecast of the Grammy Awards, and was
up 12 percent in viewers over last year, despite competing during its first hour
with ``Millionaire.''
NBC's ``Frasier'' also had strong ratings last week despite going up against
the game show.
CBS was the winner in Sunday's faceoff of high-profile movies. Its ``Perfect
Murder, Perfect Town'' movie about JonBenet Ramsey had nearly 19 million
viewers, a million more than ABC's movie about the Beach Boys. Part one of NBC's
miniseries, ``The 10th Kingdom,'' lagged far behind with 14 million viewers.
For the week, ABC averaged 16.6 million viewers in prime-time (10.9 rating,
18 share). CBS was second with 14.9 million viewers (10.0, 16), NBC had 13
million viewers (8.9, 14), and Fox had 9.8 million viewers (6.3, 10).
Among the mini-networks, UPN had 3.8 million viewers (2.6 rating, 4 share),
the WB had 3.7 million viewers (2.7, 4), and Pax TV had 1 million viewers (0.8,
1).
ABC's ``World News Tonight'' led the evening news competition with 11.5
million viewers (8.2 rating, 16 share). NBC's ``Nightly News'' had 11.2 million
viewers (8.3 rating, 17 share) and the ``CBS Evening News'' had 8.8 million
viewers (6.7, 13).
A rating point represents 1,008,000 households, or 1 percent of the nation's
estimated 100.8 million TV homes. The share is the percentage of in-use
televisions tuned to a given show. It's possible for a show to have a higher
rating than a competitor but fewer viewers; that indicates the higher-rated show
had more people watching alone.
For the week of Feb. 21-27, the top 10 shows, their networks and ratings
were:
``ER,'' NBC, 20.7; ``Who Wants to Be a Millionaire'' (Tuesday), ABC, 18.8;
``Who Wants to Be a Millionaire'' (Sunday), ABC, 17.8; ``Grammy Awards,'' CBS,
17.3; ``Who Wants to Be a Millionaire'' (Thursday), ABC, 17.2; ``Who Wants to Be
a Millionaire'' (Wednesday), 15.9; ``Friends,'' NBC, 14.4; ``Frasier,'' NBC,
14.3; ``Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (Friday), ABC, 14.0; ``CBS Sunday Movie:
Perfect Murder, Perfect Town,'' CBS, 12.9.
An ``X'' in parentheses denotes a one-time-only presentation. The rating is
the percentage of the nation's estimated 100.8 million TV homes. Each ratings
point represents 1,008,000 households.
2. (1) ``Who Wants to be a Millionaire-Tuesday,'' ABC, 18.8, 18.9 million
homes.
3. (3) ``Who Wants to be a Millionaire-Sunday,'' ABC, 17.8, 17.9 million
homes.
4. (X) ``42nd Annual Grammy Awards,'' CBS, 17.3, 17.4 million homes.
5. (2) ``Who Wants to be a Millionaire-Thursday,'' ABC, 17.2, 17.3 million
homes.
6. (X) ``Who Wants to be a Millionaire-Wednesday,'' ABC, 15.9, 16.1 million
homes.
7. (5) ``Friends,'' NBC, 14.4, 14.5 million homes.
8. (6) ``Frasier,'' NBC, 14.3, 14.4 million homes.
9. (X) ``Who Wants to be a Millionaire-Friday,'' ABC, 14.0, 14.1 million
homes.
10. (X) ``CBS Sunday Movie: Perfect Murder, Perfect Town, Part I,'' CBS,
12.9, 13.0 million homes.
11. (8) ``60 Minutes,'' CBS, 12.5, 12.6 million homes.
12. (21) ``Dharma & Greg,'' ABC, 12.3, 12.4 million homes.
13. (10) ``Everybody Loves Raymond,'' CBS, 11.9, 12.0 million homes.
14. (57) ``20/20-Downtown,'' ABC, 11.8, 11.9 million homes.
15. (X) ``Will & Grace,'' NBC, 11.6, 11.6
16. (24) ``ABC Monday Night Movie: Ransom,'' ABC, 11.5, 11.6 million homes.
16. (11) ``Jesse,'' NBC, 11.5, 11.6 million homes.
18. (X) ``ABC Premiere Event: The Beach Boys, Part I,'' ABC, 11.3, 11.4
19. (19) ``Jag,'' CBS, 11.2, 11.3 million homes.
19. (15) ``Law and Order,'' NBC, 11.2, 11.3 million homes.
-------------------------------
21. ``NYPD Blue,'' ABC, 11.0
22. ``Becker,'' CBS, 10.7
23. ``Judging Amy,'' CBS, 10.6
24. ``Providence,'' NBC, 10.5
25. ``Dateline NBC-Tuesday,'' NBC, 10.3
25. ``Touched by an Angel,'' CBS, 10.3
27. ``Ally McBeal,'' Fox, 10.0
28. ``60 Minutes II,'' CBS, 9.80
28. ``Diagnosis Murder,'' CBS, 9.8
30. ``Law and Order: Special Victims Unit,'' NBC, 9.7
31. ``The Simpsons,'' Fox, 9.4
32. ``The Drew Carey Show,'' ABC, 9.3
32. ``Malcolm in the Middle,'' Fox, 9.3
32. ``X-Files,'' Fox, 9.3
35. (X) ``The Drew Carey Show,'' ABC, 9.2
36. ``Just Shoot Me,'' NBC, 8.9
37. ``Walker, Texas Ranger,'' CBS, 8.8
37. ``The West Wing,'' NBC, 8.8
39. ``King of Queens,'' CBS, 8.7
39. (X) ``NYPD Blue,'' ABC, 8.7
39. ``Will & Grace,'' NBC, 8.7
42. (X) NBC Sunday Night Movie: 10th Kingdom, Part I ,'' NBC, 8.6
43. ``Dateline Friday,'' NBC, 8.3
43. ``Third Watch,'' NBC, 8.3
45. ``20/20-Friday,'' ABC, 8.1
45. ``Whose Line is it Anyway,'' ABC, 8.1
47. ``Ladies Man,'' CBS, 7.8
48. ``Family Law,'' CBS, 7.4
48. ``Nash Bridges,'' CBS, 7.4
48. ``Spin City,'' ABC, 7.4
48. (X) ``Twenty-one,'' NBC, 7.4
52. ``Martial Law,'' CBS, 7.3
53. (X) ``All-Star Bloopers,'' ABC, 7.2
54. ``Sabrina-Teenage Witch,'' ABC, 7.1
55. ``Whose Line is it Anyway?'' ABC, 6.6
56. (X) ``ABC Saturday Night Movie: Ransom,'' ABC, 6.5
56. ``Dateline NBC-Monday,'' NBC, 6.5
56. (X) ``That '70's Show,'' Fox, 6.5
59. ``Chicago Hope,'' CBS, 6.4
59. ``King of the Hill,'' Fox, 6.4
59. ``That 70's Show,'' Fox, 6.4
62. ``COPS 2: Indianapolix,'' Fox, 6.3
62.''The Others,'' NBC, 6.3
64. (X) ``Secrets of Street Magicians Finally Revealed,'' Fox 6.2
65. (X) ``3rd Rock From the Sun,'' NBC, 6.1
65. ``Now and Again,'' CBS, 6.1
65. ``Pretender,'' NBC, 6.1
68. ``3rd Rock From the Sun,'' NBC, 5.9
68. ``AMW: America Fights Back,'' Fox, 5.9
68. ``The Hughleys,'' ABC, 5.9
68. (X) ``World's Wildest Police Videos,'' Fox, 5.9
72. ``Early Edition,'' CBS, 5.8
73. ``World's Wildest Police Videos,'' Fox, 5.7
74. ``Kids Say the Darndest Things,'' CBS, 5.6
75. ``FOX thursday Night Movie: The Nutty Professor,'' Fox, 5.4
75. ``Profiler,'' NBC, 5.4
77. ``COPS: Albuquerque,'' Fox, 5.2
78. ``Futurama,'' Fox, 5.0
79. ``7th Heaven,'' WB, 4.9
79. (X) ``Kids Say the Darndest Things,'' CBS, 4.9
79. ``WWF Smackdown!'' UPN, 4.9
82. (X) ``Robbie Knievel 4: Head on Train Jump,'' Fox, 4.8
83. ``48 Hours,'' CBS, 4.7
83. (X) ``Twenty-one,'' NBC, 4.7
85. ``Dateline Sunday,'' NBC, 4.4
85. (X) ``TV Guide Sitcom Scandals,'' Fox, 4.4
87. ``Party of Five,'' Fox, 4.2
88. ``Buffy the Vampire Slayer,'' WB, 3.8
88. ``Charmed,'' WB, 3.8
90. ``Angel,'' WB, 3.3
91. ``Star Trek: Voyager,'' UPN, 3.2
92. ``The Parkers,'' UPN, 2.8
93. ``Moesha,'' UPN, 2.6
94. ``Popular,'' WB, 2.5
95. ``7th Heaven Beginnings,'' WB, 2.4
95. ``Felicity,'' WB, 2.4
97. ``Malcolm & Eddie,'' UPN, 2.3
97. ``The Steve Harvey Show,'' WB, 2.3
99. ``Grown Ups,'' UPN, 2.2
100. (X) ``Buffy the Vampire Slayer,'' WB, 2.1
100. ``Jack & Jill,'' WB, 2.1
102. ``7 Days,'' UPN, 2.0
102. ``The Jamie Foxx Show1,'' WB, 2.0
104. ``For Your Love,'' WB, 1.9
104. ``I Dare You!'' UPN, 1.9
104. ``The Jamie Foxx Show,'' WB, 1.9
107. ``Popular,'' WB, 1.8
108. (X) ``Angel,'' WB, 1.6
108. ``Shasta,'' UPN, 1.6
110. ``Blockbuster Cinema: Max Night: Ultra Spy,'' UPN, 1.5
110. ``Dilbert,'' UPN, 1.5
112. ``Diagnosis Murder-Wednesday,'' Pax, 1.2
113. ``Diagnosis Murder-Monday,'' Pax, 1.1
113. ``Diagnosis Murder-Thursday,'' Pax, 1.1
113. ``Diagnosis Murder-Tuesday,'' Pax, 1.1
113. ``Touched by an Angel-Tuesday,'' Pax, 1.1,
117. ``Touched by an Angel-Wednesday,'' Pax, 1.0
118. ``Destination Stardom,'' Pax, 0.9
118. ``Diagnosis Murder-Friday,'' Pax, 0.9
118. ``It's a Miracle,'' Pax, 0.9
121. (X) ``O Pioneers,'' Pax, 0.8
121. ``Touched by an Angel-Monday,'' Pax, 0.8
121. ``Touched by an Angel-Thursday,'' Pax, 0.8
124. ``It's a Miracle,'' Pax, 0.6
124. (X) ``Miracle Babies,'' Pax, 0.6
124. ``Touched by an Angel,'' Pax, 0.6
124. ``Touched by an Angel,'' Pax, 0.6
128. ``Chicken Soup for the Soul,'' Pax, 0.5
128. ``It's a Miracle-Friday,'' Pax, 0.5
128. (X) ``Miracle Cures,'' Pax, 0.5
128. ``PAXTV Three Hanky Movie: All God's Children,'' Pax, 0.5
132. (X) ``Chicken Soup,'' Pax, 0.4.
Prime-time Nielsen ratings
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Nielsen Ratings
Ratings run Monday - Sunday, use the links below to look for any week.
# |
Air Date |
101 |
|
102 |
|
103 |
|
| 11/23/98 | |
104 |
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105 |
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106 |
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107 |
|
| 1/4/99 | |
108 |
|
109 |
|
| 110 | |
| 111 | |
| 112 | |
| 113 | |
| 114 | |
| 115 | |
| 116 | |
| 3/15/99 | |
| 3/29/99 | |
| 117 | |
| 118 | |
| 119 | |
|
103 |
|
| 120 | |
| 121 | 5/10/99 |
| 122 | |
| 5/24/99 | |
| 6/7/99 | |
| 6/14/99 | |
| 6/28/99 | |
| 7/5/99 | |
| 7/12/99 | |
| 7/19/99 | |
| 7/28/99 | |
| 8/2/99 | |
| 8/9/99 | |
| 8/16/99 | |
| 8/23/99 | |
| 9-6-99 | |
| 9-13-99 | |
| 201 | 9-20-99 |
| 202 | 9-27-99 |
| 203 | 10-4-99 |
| 204 | 10-11-99 |
| 205 | 10-18-99 |
| 206 | 10/25/99 |
| 207 | 11/1/99 |
| 208 | 11/8/99 |
| 209 | 11/15/99 |
| 210 | 11/22/99 |
| 211 | 11/29/99 |
|
201 |
12/6/99 |
| 212 | 12/13/99 |
| 118 | 12/20/99 |
| 119 | 12/27/99 |
| 121 | 1/3/2000 |
| 213 | 1/10/00 |
| 214 | 1/17/00 |
|
122 |
1/24/00 |
| 203 | 1/31/00 |
| 215 | 2/7/00 |
| 216 | 2/14/00 |
| 217 | 2/21/00 |
| 218 | 2/28/00 |
| 3/6/00 | |
| 3/13/00 | |
| 219 | 3/20/00 |
| 3/27/00 | |
| 4/3/00 | |
| 220 | 4/10/00 |
| 221 | 4/17/00 |
| 222 | 4/24/00 |
| 223 | 5/01/00 |
| 224 | 5/08/00 |
