ABC shrugged off a spat with Time Warner and crushed its network competition with celebrity editions of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire," registering its best week in the ratings since the Super Bowl.

ABC's average prime-time audience of 18.2 million people last week easily outdistanced second-place CBS and its 11.6 million viewers in the important ratings "sweeps" week, Nielsen Media Research said Tuesday.

The accomplishment came even though 3.5 million Time Warner cable customers lost access to ABC May 1 because of the company's dispute with ABC's parent, the Walt Disney Co.

The four celebrity editions of "Millionaire" each drew an audience of 34.6 million to 36 million. Wednesday's episode, where longtime fan of the show Rosie O'Donnell won $500,000 for charity, was the most-watched episode ever.

ABC beat NBC Thursday night for the first time in a ratings sweeps month since 1994. The victory came after "Millionaire" ran eight minutes long, cutting into the audience for NBC's "ER," a move that raised some eyebrows in the industry. An NBC spokeswoman refused to comment on the strategy.

A regular edition of "Millionaire" and "The Practice" also beat two made-for-TV movies on rival networks Sunday. CBS could at least brag that its "Cupid and Cate" movie was more popular than the first part of NBC's miniseries, "Jason and the Argonauts."

NBC saw another high-priced miniseries, "The '70s," finish fourth at the 9 p.m. hour on Monday.

ABC had an 11.7 rating and 20 share for the week, with CBS at 8.2 and 14. NBC had 11.4 million viewers (8.1 rating, 14 share), Fox had 7.4 million viewers (5, 8), UPN had 3.7 million (2.8, 5), the WB had 3.2 million (2.4, 4) and Pax TV had 990,000 viewers (0.7, 1).

NBC's "Nightly News" and ABC's "World News Tonight" finished in a virtual tie in the evening news ratings race. NBC had an average of 10,000 more viewers (9.03 million viewers to 9.02 million), but ABC (7 rating, 16 share) bested NBC (6.9, 15) in the ratings. The "CBS Evening News" had 7 million viewers (5.5, 12).

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 May 1-7:

1. "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire," ABC.
2. "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire," ABC.
3. "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire," ABC.
4. "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire," ABC.
5. "ER," NBC.
6. "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire," ABC.
7. "The Practice," ABC.
8. "Friends," NBC.
9. "20/20-Downtown," ABC.
10. "Dharma & Greg," ABC.
10. "Friends," NBC.
12. "The Drew Carey Show," ABC.
13. "Law & Order," NBC.
14. "Frasier," NBC.
15. "Becker," CBS.
16. "Everybody Loves Raymond," CBS.
17. "Judging Amy," CBS.
18. "60 Minutes," CBS.
19. "CBS Sunday Movie: Cupid and Cate."
19. "Touched By an Angel," CBS.
21. "NYPD Blue," ABC.
22. "Frasier," NBC.
23. "60 Minutes II," CBS.
24. "Spin City," ABC.
25. "ABC Monday Night Movie: Arabian Nights, Part 2."
25. "35th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards," CBS.
27. "Dateline NBC" (Friday).
28. "Family Law," CBS.
29. "20/20" (Wednesday), ABC.
29. "The Drew Carey Show," ABC.
31. "The West Wing," NBC.
32. "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," NBC.
33. "JAG," CBS.
34. "NBC Sunday Night Movie: Jason and the Argonauts, Part 1."
35. "Diagnosis Murder," CBS.
35. "Providence," NBC.
37. "Just Shoot Me," NBC.
38. "Whose Line Is It Anyway?," ABC.
39. "Ally McBeal," Fox.
40. "Dateline NBC" (Tuesday).
40. "Will & Grace," NBC.
42. "The Wonderful World Of Disney: Geppetto," ABC.
43. "20/20" (Friday), ABC.
44. "Walker, Texas Ranger," CBS.
45. "Malcolm in the Middle," Fox.
46. "The Simpsons," Fox.
47. "Nash Bridges," CBS.
47. "NBC Movie of the Week: The '70s, Part 2."
49. "The X-Files," Fox.
50. "Whose Line Is It Anyway?," ABC.
51. "Sabrina, the Teenage Witch," ABC.
52. "Sabrina, the Teenage Witch," ABC.
53. "Boy Meets World," ABC.
53. "Martial Law," CBS.
55. "Chicago Hope," CBS.
55. "Now and Again," CBS.
55. "The Pretender," NBC.
58. "America's Most Wanted: America Fights Back," Fox.
59. "That '70s Show," Fox.
60. "King of Queens," CBS.
61. "Dateline NBC" (Sunday).
61. "World Wrestling Federation Smackdown!," UPN.
63. "Profiler," NBC.
64. "Cops 2: Fort Worth," Fox.
64. "Titus," Fox.
66. "ABC Saturday Night Movie: Jaws."
66. "Funny Flubs & Screw Ups 5," CBS.
68. "Party of Five," Fox.
69. "Dateline NBC" (Monday).
69. "Greed," Fox.
71. "Dateline NBC" (Wednesday).
71. "Ladies Man," CBS.
71. "The Others," NBC.
74. "Cops: Albuquerque," Fox.
74. "Early Edition," CBS.
74. "King of the Hill," Fox.
77. "Greed," Fox.
78. "48 Hours," CBS.
78. "That '70s Show," Fox.
80. "Malcolm in the Middle," Fox.
80. "Will & Grace 8:30," NBC.
82. "Futurama," Fox.
83. "Angel," WB.
83. "World's Wildest Police Videos," Fox.
85. "3rd Rock from the Sun," NBC.
85. "7th Heaven," WB.
85. "Star Trek: Voyager," UPN.
85. "TV's Funniest Game Shows," Fox.
89. "Charmed," WB.
90. "TV Guide: The Truth Behind Sitcoms 5," Fox.
91. "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," WB.
91. "Dawson's Creek," WB.
93. "The Parkers," UPN.
94. "Felicity," WB.
94. "Roswell," WB.
96. "Moesha," UPN.
97. "Grown Ups," UPN.
98. "Blockbuster Cinema: Bad Boys," UPN.
99. "Malcolm & Eddie," UPN.
100. "Charmed," WB.
100. "Moesha," UPN.
100. "The Parkers," UPN.
103. "The Steve Harvey Show," WB.
104. "7 Days," UPN.
104. "Dawson's Creek," WB.
104. "The Steve Harvey Show," WB.
107. "For Your Love," WB.
107. "Jamie Foxx Show," WB.
107. "Popular," WB.
110. "I Dare You!," UPN.
111. "7th Heaven Beginnings," WB.
111. "Diagnosis Murder," Pax.
113. "Diagnosis Murder," Pax.
114. "Solomon Part 2," Pax.
114. "Touched by an Angel," Pax.
116. "Diagnosis Murder," Pax.
117. "Diagnosis Murder," Pax.
117. "Touched by an Angel," Pax.
119. "Touched by an Angel," Pax.
119. "Twenty-One," Pax.
121. "Touched by an Angel," Pax.
122. "It's a Miracle," Pax.
122. "It's a Miracle," Pax.
124. "It's a Miracle," Pax.
124. "Jack Hanna-Totally Wild," Pax.
124. "Miracle Babies 3," Pax.
124. "Pax TV Three-Hanky Movie: The Betty Ford Story."
128. "Pax TV Sunday Mystery Movie: Dark Mirror."
128. "Touched by an Angel," Pax.
128. "Twice in a Lifetime," Pax.
131. "Chicken Soup for the Soul," Pax.
Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS