UPN wins mini-ratings battle, but may lose the war

ASSOCIATED PRESS

10-Sep-1999 Friday

The UPN network's future may have suddenly been thrown into flux because of
Viacom's merger with CBS, but its present is looking better than it has in
many months.

UPN narrowly beat mini-network rival the WB for the second straight week --
the only two times it has done so since April 1998.

It's not quite a fair fight, since UPN has gotten a jump on the fall season
by premiering a handful of its shows while the WB is airing mostly reruns.
But UPN's new Thursday night wrestling series had higher ratings than
anything on either network last week, and Jaleel White's new sitcom, "Grown
Ups," shows signs of being a modest hit.

UPN is half-owned by Viacom and, under current federal regulations, the
company would not be allowed to own more than 33 percent of the network. So
UPN will likely be sold, shut down or folded into CBS if the rules can't be
changed.

Viacom's chairman, Sumner Redstone, would not tip his hand on UPN's future,
but indicated he was happy at the company's efforts to turn around by
concentrating on a young male demographic.

"UPN is doing a lot better than it was," Redstone said.

CBS won the Nielsen Media Research prime-time ratings crown during a
lackluster week, where the most popular show was an exhibition football
game. CBS had a 6.4 rating and 12 share, followed by NBC (6.0 rating and 11
share), ABC (5.8 and 11) and Fox (4.2 and 8).

UPN had a 2.3 rating and 4 share, followed by the WB (2.2 rating and 4
share) and Pax TV (0.8 and 2).

The "NBC Nightly News" won the evening news ratings race with a 6.9 rating
and 16 share, followed by ABC's "World News Tonight" (6.7 rating and 15
share) and the "CBS Evening News" (6.0 and 14).

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.

Here are the prime-time ratings as compiled by Nielsen Media Research for
Aug. 30-Sept. 5:

1. "NFL Pre-Season Football: San Francisco at Oakland," ABC.

2. "20/20" (Wednesday), ABC.

3. "Dateline NBC" (Tuesday).

3. "ER," NBC.

3. "Everybody Loves Raymond," CBS.

6. "Frasier," NBC.

7. "Frasier," NBC.

8. "Friends," NBC.

9. "The King of Queens," CBS.

10. "48 Hours" (Monday), CBS.

10. "Law & Order," NBC.

12. "60 Minutes," CBS.

12. "60 Minutes II," CBS.

12. "CBS Sunday Movie: All the Winters That Have Been."

12. "Dateline NBC" (Monday).

12. "Jesse," NBC.

12. "Touched by an Angel," CBS.

18. "20/20" (Friday), ABC.

19. "Dateline NBC" (Wednesday).

20. "The Drew Carey Show," ABC.

21. "Law & Order," NBC.

21. "Walker, Texas Ranger," CBS.

23. "The King of Queens," CBS.

24. "Dharma & Greg," ABC.

24. "World's Most Amazing Videos," NBC.

26. "JAG," CBS.

26. "Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place," ABC.

28. "48 Hours" (Thursday), CBS.

28. "Will & Grace," NBC.

30. "NBC Sunday Night Movie: Drop Zone."

31. "Martial Law," CBS.

31. "Will & Grace," NBC.

33. "NFL Pre-Season Showcase," ABC.

33. "Spin City," ABC.

35. "Dateline NBC" (Friday).

35. "NYPD Blue," ABC.

37. "CBS Wednesday Movie: The Man Without a Face."

37. "That '70s Show," Fox.

39. "3rd Rock From the Sun," NBC.

39. "Ally McBeal," Fox.

39. "Just Shoot Me," NBC.

39. "Sabrina, the Teenage Witch," ABC.

43. "Spin City," ABC.

44. "Home Improvement," ABC.

45. "Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place," ABC.

46. "48 Hours" (Tuesday), CBS.

46. "AMW: America Fights Back," Fox.

46. "Nash Bridges," CBS.

46. "Thanks," CBS.

46. "World's Greatest Pets," CBS.

51. "Cosby," CBS.

51. "Diagnosis Murder," CBS.

51. "The Hughleys," ABC.

51. "it's like, you know ...," ABC.

55. "Bloopers," ABC.

55. "Boy Meets World," ABC.

55. "Norm," ABC.

58. "That '70s Show," Fox.

59. "COPS 2: Atlanta," Fox.

60. "The Practice," ABC.

60. "World's Scariest Police Chases," Fox.

62. "Kids Say the Darndest Things," CBS.

63. "Fox Wednesday Night Movie: High School High."

63. "Guinness World Records: Primetime," Fox.

63. "Whose Line Is It Anyway?," ABC.

66. "Candid Camera," CBS.

66. "Dateline NBC" (Sunday).

66. "Early Edition," CBS.

66. "NBC Movie of the Week: Diana."

66. "Veronica's Closet," NBC.

66. "Wonderful World of Disney: Dennis the Menace," ABC.

66. "You Asked for It," NBC.

73. "ABC Saturday Night Movie: Angel Flight Down."

74. "John Stossel Special: Teens: What Makes Them Tick?," ABC.

74. "World's Wildest Police Videos," Fox.

76. "COPS: Palm Beach," Fox.

76. "Nightline in Primetime: Brave New World," ABC.

76. "The Simpsons," Fox.

79. "Whose Line Is It Anyway?," ABC.

80. "Futurama," Fox.

81. "WWF Smackdown!," UPN.

82. "Fox Files," Fox.

82. "Suddenly Susan," NBC.

84. "The X-Files," Fox.

85. "7th Heaven," WB.

85. "National Geographic," NBC.

87. "Charmed," WB.

88. "1999 Teen Choice Awards," Fox.

88. "Grown Ups," UPN.

88. "The Parkers," UPN.

91. "King of the Hill," Fox.

92. "Champions of Magic," ABC.

92. "Malcolm & Eddie", UPN.

94. "NBC Saturday Night Movie: When We Were Kings."

94. "The Steve Harvey Show," WB.

94. "World's Funniest!," Fox.

97. "For Your Love," WB.

97. "The Jamie Foxx Show," WB.

99. "Moesha," UPN.

100. "The Steve Harvey Show," WB.

100. "The Wayans Brothers," WB.

102. "Dawson's Creek," WB.

103. "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," WB.

103. "Movie Stars," WB.

103. "Star Trek: Voyager," UPN.

103. "Summer Music Mania '99," UPN.

103. "Unhappily Ever After," WB.

108. "Smart Guy," WB.

109. "Katie Joplin," WB.

110. "7 Days," UPN.

111. "Diagnosis Murder," Pax.

111. "Felicity," WB.

111. "Sister, Sister," WB.

114. "Redhanded," UPN.

115. "Diagnosis Murder," Pax.

115. "Diagnosis Murder," Pax.

115. "Redhanded," UPN.

115. "Rescue 77," WB.

119. "Touched by an Angel," Pax.

119. "UPN Special Presentation: Arnold's Rock and Roll Bodybuilding II."

121. "Diagnosis Murder," Pax.

121. "Diagnosis Murder," Pax.

121. "Touched by an Angel," Pax.

124. "Touched by an Angel," Pax.

124. "Touched by an Angel," Pax.

126. "It's a Miracle," Pax.

127. "Destination Stardom," Pax.

127. "Little Men," Pax.

127. "Touched by an Angel," Pax.

130. "Chicken Soup for the Soul," Pax.

130. "Miracle Babies," Pax.

130. "Twice in a Lifetime," Pax.

130. "Twice in a Lifetime," Pax.

134. "Flipper: New Adventures," Pax.

134. "The Pax TV Three-Hanky Movie: Father's Little Dividend."

136. "Chicken Soup for the Soul," Pax.

137. "Little Men," Pax.

137. "The Pax TV Sunday Movie: Life With Father."