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THE NIELSENS
CBS gives ABC a run for its money, ratings
ASSOCIATED PRESS
11-Nov-1999 Thursday
ABC jumped off to a strong start in the November TV ratings
"sweeps" with the musical "Annie" and a triumphant return
for the game show "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire."
Both shows were winners Sunday in an unusually competitive night for network TV.
The 26 million viewers for "Annie" gave it the largest audience of any
Disney movie since "Cinderella" two years ago.
"Millionaire" drew just under 26 million viewers, its biggest audience
ever, in the first of a 15-night run.
In household ratings, CBS won the week with a 9.1 rating and 15 share. NBC had
an 8.9 rating and 14 share, ABC had an 8.7 rating and 14 share and Fox had a 6.4
rating and 10 share.
But ABC actually had more people watching, during an average prime-time hour,
than any other network -- an indication that families gathered together to watch
"Annie" and "Millionaire." ABC also narrowly edged NBC among
18-to-49-year-old viewers, the demographic most sought by
advertisers.
"Millionaire" beat Fox's season premiere of "The X-Files" in
the ratings, as well as NBC's "The Magical Legend of the Leprechauns"
and CBS' "Shake, Rattle and Roll."
Proving that sex sells, Fox's "Ally McBeal" drew its largest audience
ever for an episode that featured Calista Flockhart and Lucy Liu's passionate
kiss and dance floor grope, as well as Portia de Rossi's spanking with a
hairbrush.
As is typical, NBC's "ER" was the week's most-watched show, Nielsen
Media Research said.
Among the second tier of networks, the WB's 2.9 rating and 4 share narrowly
edged newly competitive UPN's 2.7 rating and 4 share. Pax TV had a 0.8 rating
and 1 share.
NBC's "Nightly News" won the evening news ratings race with an 8.4
rating and 17 share. ABC's "World News Tonight" had a 7.9 rating and
16 share, while the "CBS Evening News" had a 7.3 rating and 14 share.
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 TVs
tuned to a given show.
Here are the prime-time ratings as compiled by Nielsen Media
Research for Nov. 1-7:
1. "ER," NBC.
2. "Friends," NBC.
3. "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?," ABC.
3. "NFL Monday Night Football: Seattle at Green Bay," ABC.
5. "Wonderful World of Disney: Annie," ABC.
6. "Frasier," NBC.
7. "60 Minutes," CBS.
8. "NFL Monday Showcase," ABC.
9. "The Practice," ABC.
10. "Jesse," NBC.
11. "Ally McBeal," Fox.
11. "Everybody Loves Raymond," CBS.
13. "JAG," CBS.
14. "Stark Raving Mad," NBC.
15. "Judging Amy," CBS.
16. "Becker," CBS.
16. "The X-Files," Fox.
18. "CBS Wednesday Movie: At the Mercy of a Stranger."
18. "Providence," NBC.
20. "Diagnosis Murder," CBS.
21. "Law & Order," NBC.
22. "The King of Queens," CBS.
22. "Sunday Night Movie: The Magical Legend of the Leprechauns-Part
1,"
NBC.
24. "60 Minutes II," CBS.
24. "The Drew Carey Show," ABC.
26. "Dharma & Greg," ABC.
27. "West Wing," NBC.
28. "Dateline NBC" (Wednesday).
29. "Sunday Movie: Shake, Rattle and Roll-Part 1," CBS.
29. "Ladies Man," CBS.
29. "Will & Grace," NBC.
32. "Dateline NBC" (Friday).
33. "48 Hours," CBS.
34. "Just Shoot Me," NBC.
34. "The Simpsons," Fox.
34. "Will & Grace," NBC.
37. "Spin City," ABC.
38. "Everybody Loves Raymond," CBS.
38. "Walker, Texas Ranger," CBS.
40. "Dateline NBC" (Tuesday).
40. "Nash Bridges," CBS.
42. "3rd Rock From the Sun," NBC.
42. "Futurama," Fox.
44. "Law & Order," NBC.
44. "Third Watch," NBC.
44. "Two Guys and a Girl," ABC.
47. "20/20" (Friday), ABC.
47. "20/20" (Wednesday), ABC.
49. "Dateline NBC" (Monday).
50. "Once and Again," ABC.
51. "20/20" (Monday), ABC.
51. "48 Hours," CBS.
51. "Cosby," CBS.
51. "Oh Grow Up," ABC.
55. "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," NBC.
56. "Boy Meets World," ABC.
57. "Dateline NBC" (Sunday).
57. "Sports Night," ABC.
59. "Greed," Fox.
60. "It's Like, You Know," ABC.
60. "Norm," ABC.
60. "Sabrina, the Teenage Witch," ABC.
63. "Kids Say the Darndest Things," CBS.
64. "Candid Camera," CBS.
64. "FOX Movie Special: The Nutty Professor."
64. "Martial Law," CBS.
64. "Now and Again," CBS.
64. "The Pretender," NBC.
69. "Whose Line is it Anyway?," ABC.
70. "COPS: Palm Beach," Fox.
70. "Early Edition," CBS.
70. "The Profiler," NBC.
73. "20/20-Downtown," ABC.
73. "Beverly Hills, 90210," Fox.
73. "COPS 3: Indianapolis," Fox.
73. "That '70s Show," Fox.
77. "Odd Man Out," ABC.
78. "ABC Saturday Night Movie: Dante's Peak."
78. "COPS 2: Arizona," Fox.
78. "The Hughleys," ABC.
81. "Best Commercials Never Seen," ABC.
82. "Suddenly Susan," NBC.
82. "Veronica's Closet," NBC.
84. "Time of Your Life," Fox.
84. "Whose Line Is it Anyway?" ABC.
84. "World's Deadliest Earthquakes," ABC.
87. "COPS: Fort Worth," Fox.
87. "King of the Hill," Fox.
89. "Party of Five," Fox.
90. "WWF Smackdown!," UPN.
91. "Ally," Fox.
91. "Freaks & Geeks," NBC.
93. "7th Heaven," WB.
94. "Charmed," WB.
95. "Get Real," Fox.
96. "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," WB.
97. "CBS NFL Postgame," CBS.
97. "Star Trek: Voyager," UPN.
99. "Angel," WB.
100. "Dawson's Creek," WB.
101. "Outrageous TV," Fox.
101. "Roswell," WB.
103. "7 Days," UPN.
104. "The Parkers," UPN.
104. "Popular," WB.
106. "Felicity," WB.
107. "7th Heaven Beginnings," WB.
107. "Moesha," UPN.
109. "The Jamie Foxx Show," WB.
109. "Safe Harbor," WB.
111. "The Jamie Foxx Show," WB.
111. "The Steve Harvey Show," WB.
113. "For Your Love," WB.
113. "Grown Ups," UPN.
113. "Malcolm & Eddie," UPN.
116. "Jack & Jill," WB.
117. "Blockbuster Cinema: Avalon: Beyond the Abyss," UPN.
118. "The Strip," UPN.
119. "Diagnosis Murder," Pax.
119. "Diagnosis Murder," Pax.
119. "Shasta McNasty," UPN.
122. "Touched by an Angel," Pax.
123. "Dilbert," UPN.
123. "Touched by an Angel," Pax.
125. "Diagnosis Murder," Pax.
125. "Touched by an Angel," Pax.
127. "Diagnosis Murder," Pax.
127. "Diagnosis Murder," Pax.
127. "It's a Miracle," Pax.
127. "Touched by an Angel," Pax.
127. "Touched by an Angel," Pax.
132. "Twice in a Lifetime," Pax.
133. "Chicken Soup for the Soul," Pax.
133. "Hope Island," Pax.
133. "It's a Miracle," Pax.
133. "Touched by an Angel," Pax.
137. "Destination Stardom," Pax.
137. "Little Men," Pax.
137. "The PaxTV Three-Hanky Movie: The Children Nobody Wanted."
140. "Hope Island," Pax.
140. "Mystery of the Ark of the Covenant," Pax.
140. "Twice in a Lifetime," Pax.
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