THE NIELSENS
`Millionaire' breaks the
ratings bank
ASSOCIATED PRESS
02-Sep-1999 Thursday
ABC ended its two-week "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" series with the
summer's strongest prime-time ratings, and a promise that the show will
return in November.
The Regis Philbin-hosted quiz show, which led ABC to an easy Nielsen
Media
Research weekly victory, is prompting other networks to develop new game
shows.
Sunday's hour-long finale of "Millionaire" drew an estimated 22.4 million
viewers, more than double the 9.9 million viewers who watched the first
episode. It was the most-watched prime-time show since the finale of "Home
Improvement" in May.
North Carolina's David Honea, invited back after the show mistakenly told
him Aug. 19 that he had incorrectly answered a question about the Great
Lakes, returned on Sunday's show to win $125,000.
Philbin jumped the gun when he announced on the air that "Millionaire"
would return for a two-week run in November, ABC spokeswoman Pat Preblick
said. It's not clear whether it will return as a weekly series or a
two-week event, but, "It is definitely coming back in November."
"Millionaire" episodes accounted for five of the six top-rated shows last
week, with only "60 Minutes" breaking in. Saturday's edition of the game
show, on traditionally the slowest night of the week for viewing, tied for
No. 29.
For the week, ABC had a 7.3 rating and 13 share, followed by CBS (6.5
rating and 13 share), NBC (6.3 and 11) and Fox (5.6 and 10). UPN had a 2.3
rating and 4 share, followed by WB (2.2 rating and 4) and Pax TV (0.9 and
2).
"NBC Nightly News" won the evening news ratings race with a 7.4 rating and
16 share, followed by ABC's "World News Tonight" (7.0 rating and 16 share)
and the "CBS Evening News" (6.0 and 13).
A rating point represents 994,000 households, or 1 percent of the nation's
estimated 99.4 million TV homes. The share is the percentage of in-use
televisions tuned to a given show.
The prime-time ratings, as compiled by Nielsen Media Research for Aug.
23-29:
1. "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" (Sunday), ABC.
2. "60 Minutes," CBS.
3. "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" (Thursday), ABC.
4. "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" (Tuesday), ABC.
5. "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" (Wednesday), ABC.
6. "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" (Friday), ABC.
7. "Dateline NBC" (Monday).
8. "Touched by an Angel," CBS.
9. "NFL Pre-Season Football: Denver at Green Bay," ABC.
10. "Will & Grace," NBC.
10. "CBS Sunday Movie: Ellen Foster."
12. "ER," NBC.
13. "Frasier," NBC.
14. "Fox Wednesday Night Movie: Die Hard 3."
14. "Friends," NBC.
16. "CBS Wednesday Movie: Something to Talk About."
16. "Everybody Loves Raymond," CBS.
18. "NFL on Fox -- Pre-Season 99: Denver at Dallas."
18. "Dateline NBC" (Tuesday).
20. "NFL Pre-Season Showcase," ABC.
21. "Dharma & Greg," ABC.
22. "Best Commercials Never Seen," ABC.
22. "The Practice," ABC.
24. "17th Annual Miss Teen USA," CBS.
24. "Becker," CBS.
24. "Frasier," NBC.
27. "The Drew Carey Show," ABC.
27. "20/20" (Friday), ABC.
29. "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" (Saturday), ABC.
29. "Will & Grace," NBC.
29. "20/20" (Wednesday), ABC.
32. "Dateline NBC" (Friday).
33. "Dateline NBC" (Thursday).
33. "Law & Order," NBC.
35. "Law & Order," NBC.
36. "Sabrina, the Teenage Witch," ABC.
36. "Home Improvement," ABC.
36. "The King of Queens," CBS.
36. "Dateline NBC" (Wednesday).
40. "JAG," CBS.
40. "Spin City," ABC.
40. "Just Shoot Me," NBC.
43. "Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place," ABC.
44. "World's Most Shocking Moments," Fox.
44 "Boy Meets World," ABC.
46. "NBC Sunday Night Movie: Cruel Justice."
47. "Whose Line Is It Anyway?," ABC.
47. "Jesse," NBC.
47. "Nightline in Primetime: Brave New World," ABC.
50. "Walker, Texas Ranger," CBS.
51. "Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place," ABC.
51. "Thanks," CBS.
51. "48 Hours" (Monday), CBS.
54. "Nash Bridges," CBS.
54. "3rd Rock From the Sun," NBC.
54. "World's Most Amazing Videos," NBC.
57. "NYPD Blue," ABC.
58. "You Asked for It," NBC.
58. "Ally McBeal," Fox.
60. "NBC Saturday Night Movie: Nobody's Fool."
60. "Providence," NBC.
62. "Surviving the Moment of Impact," Fox.
62. "Cosby," CBS.
62. "NFL Pre-Season: Kansas City at Jacksonville," CBS.
65. "ABC Saturday Night Movie: Major Payne."
65. "COPS 2: Palm Beach," Fox.
67. "Wonderful World of Disney: Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves," ABC.
68. "AMW: America Fights Back," Fox.
69. "COPS: Indianapolis," Fox.
70. "Martial Law," CBS.
71. "Guinness World Records: Primetime," Fox.
72. "That '70s Show," Fox.
73. "WWF Smackdown!," UPN.
73. "US Gymnastics Championships," NBC.
73. "Veronica's Closet," NBC.
76. "Fox Files," Fox.
77. "That '70s Show," Fox.
78. "Television Influences: From Yesterday to Today," CBS.
79. "Early Edition," CBS.
79. "America's Funniest Home Videos," ABC.
79. "Suddenly Susan," NBC.
82. "King of the Hill," Fox.
82. "World's Funniest!," Fox.
84. "Grown Ups Special," UPN.
84. "7th Heaven," UPN.
84. "The Steve Harvey Show," WB.
87. "U.S. Gymnastics Championships," NBC.
88. "Moesha," UPN.
88. "Charmed," WB.
88. "King of the Hill," Fox.
91. "For Your Love," WB.
91. "The Jamie Fox Show," WB.
93. "Mad TV Primetime," Fox.
93. "Dawson's Creek," WB.
95. "Malcolm & Eddie," UPN.
95. "Moesha," UPN.
95. "7th Heaven," UPN.
95. "Sister, Sister," WB.
95. "The Steve Harvey Show," WB.
95. "The Wayans Brothers," WB.
101. "Smart Guy," WB.
101. "Grown Ups Special," UPN.
101. "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," WB.
104. "Star Trek: Voyager," UPN.
104. "Clueless," UPN.
104. "Unhappily Ever After," WB.
107. "Between Brothers," UPN.
107. "Movie Stars," WB.
109. "Clueless," UPN.
109. "Diagnosis Murder," Pax.
111. "7 Days," UPN.
111. "Diagnosis Murder," Pax.
111. "Felicity," WB.
111. "Rescue 77," WB.
115. "Diagnosis Murder," Pax.
116. "Touched by an Angel," Pax.
116. "Diagnosis Murder," Pax.
118. "It's a Miracle," Pax.
118. "Katie Joplin," WB.
118. "Diagnosis Murder," Pax.
118. "Touched by an Angel," Pax.
122. "UPN Special Presentation: The Cyber-Stalking."
122. "Chicken Soup for the Soul," Pax.
122. "Touched by an Angel," Pax.
125. "Touched by an Angel," Pax.
125. "Twice in a Lifetime," Pax.
127. "Destination Stardom," Pax.
127. "Touched by an Angel," Pax.
129. "Little Men," Pax.
130. "Flipper: New Adventures," Pax.
130. "It's a Miracle," Pax.
132. "Little Men," Pax.
132. "Twice in a Lifetime," Pax.
134. "Chicken Soup for the Soul," Pax.
134. "The PaxTV Sunday Movie: Royal Wedding."
136. "The PaxTV Three-Hanky Movie: Happy Go Lovely."
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