A quartet of reliable sitcoms, football and a Barbara Walters celebrity special powered ABC to first place in the latest network ratings contest.
CBS, coming off a November sweeps victory, was second last week despite a No. 1 performance by "60 Minutes" and a fourth-place showing by "Gypsy," the made-for-TV musical starring Bette Midler.ABC was the most-watched network with a 12.9 average rating and a 21 share, followed by CBS with a 12.2 rating and a 20 share, according to figures released by the A.C. Nielsen Co.
NBC had a 9.8 rating and 16 share and Fox Broadcasting Co. had a 6.9 rating and 11 share.
One ratings point equals 942,000 television households. Share is the percentage of TV sets in use at any one time that are tuned to a particular broadcast.
For the week of Dec. 6-12, the ABC comedies "Home Improvement," "Grace Under Fire," "Roseanne" and "Coach" placed in the top 10. NBC's sitcoms "Seinfeld" and "Frasier" also were winners.
"NFL Monday Night Football," featuring the Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys, ranked fifth for ABC. Walters' interview special, "The 12 Most Fascinating People of 1993," was ninth.
In nightly news ratings, ABC remained in first place with a 10.7 average rating and 20 share. NBC and CBS both earned a 10 rating, while NBC's share, at 19, was a point higher than CBS'.
ABC news viewership was down 12 percent from a year ago, CBS was down 8 percent and NBC remained unchanged.
Here are the top 10 shows, their networks and ratings: 1. "60 Minutes," CBS, 21.7; 2. "Home Improvement," ABC, 20.1; 3. "Seinfeld," NBC, 19.9; 4. "Gypsy" (CBS Sunday Night Movie), CBS, 18.6; 5. "NFL Monday Night Football," ABC, 18.0; 6. "Grace Under Fire," ABC, 17.7; 7. "Roseanne," ABC, 17.4; 8. "Frasier," NBC, 16.5; 9. "12 Most Fascinating People" (ABC News Special), ABC, 16.3; 10. "Coach," ABC, 16.2.