Last week's most-hyped programs were on ABC, yet all the buildup didn't translate into top ratings.
Neither the final two installments of "The Beatles Anthology" nor Princess Diana's interview cracked the Nielsen Top 10, as NBC edged out ABC for the week, Nielsen Media Research reported this week.Airing last Wednesday, the second two-hour block of the much-promoted Beatles documentary gave ABC a not-so-fab 13.5 rating and 23 share, ranking 13th for the week out of 93 shows.
Part 3 was trounced by NBC's Thursday lineup, to rank 36th with a 10.4 rating and 19 share.
Then, the next day, the BBC-produced interview with Princess Diana, which aired as a "Turning Point" special, gave ABC a 13.3 rating and 23 share, to rank 16th.
For the week of Nov. 20-26, NBC won in prime time with a 12.3 rating and 21 share. ABC had an 11.7 rating and 20 share. Third-ranked CBS logged a puny 9.3 rating and 16 share. And Fox, programming 15 hours, scored a 6.9 rating and 11 share.
Among the "emerging networks," UPN (programming four hours weekly) had a 2.8 rating and 4 share, while Warner's The WB (programming five hours) had a 2.2 rating and 3 share.
One ratings point equals 959,000 television households. Share is the percentage of TV sets in use at any one time that are tuned to a particular broadcast.
In the evening news race, ABC's "World News Tonight" retained first place with a 10.4 rating and 20 share. "NBC Nightly News" had a 9.1 rating and 18 share, while "The CBS Evening News" had an 8.0 rating and 15 share.
The top 10 shows were: 1. "Monday Night Football," ABC, 18.5; 2. "ER," NBC, 17.3; 3. "Home Improvement," ABC, 16.3; 4. "20/20," ABC, 16.0; 5. (tie) "Friends" NBC, "NYPD Blue," ABC, 15.5; 7. Movie: "Jurassic Park," NBC, 15.3; 8. Movie: "Dead By Sunset" (Part 2), NBC, 14.9; 9. "60 Minutes," CBS, 14.6; 10. Movie: "Home Alone," NBC, 14.5.