Another Fourth Place Showing for ABC
NEW YORK (AP) -- The dog days of summer have turned ABC into a fourth-place network. And without its news division, the picture would be even bleaker. Buoyed by the hit reality show, "American Idol," Fox jumped past ABC into third place among viewers last week, according to Nielsen Media Research. It was the fifth time in six weeks Fox beat ABC. The three most-watched prime-time programs on ABC were all produced by the network's news division. The newsmagazines "Primetime Thursday" and "20/20" both hit Nielsen's top 10. The news-based reality series, "State V.," which follows criminal cases in Arizona, was next, tied for 40th. An ABC entertainment series — a rerun of "My Wife and Kids" — doesn't appear on Nielsen's list until No. 49. For the week, CBS averaged 7.83 million viewers (5.5 rating, 10 share) to edge NBC's 7.8 million (5.3, 10). Fox aver-aged 6.7 million (4.1, 8), ABC averaged 6.1 million (also 4.1, 8), UPN had 2.8 million (1.8, 3), the WB had 2.3 million (1.6, 3) and Pax TV had 1.1 million (0.8, 1). ABC's "World News Tonight" won the evening news ratings race with 9.1 million viewers (6.5 rating, 14 share), NBC's "Nightly News" had 8.9 million (6.4, 14) and the "CBS Evening News" had 7.7 million (5.5, 12).
NEW YORK (AP) -- The dog days of summer have turned ABC into a fourth-place network. And without its news division, the picture would be even bleaker. Buoyed by the hit reality show, "American Idol," Fox jumped past ABC into third place among viewers last week, according to Nielsen Media Research. It was the fifth time in six weeks Fox beat ABC. The three most-watched prime-time programs on ABC were all produced by the network's news division. The newsmagazines "Primetime Thursday" and "20/20" both hit Nielsen's top 10. The news-based reality series, "State V.," which follows criminal cases in Arizona, was next, tied for 40th. An ABC entertainment series — a rerun of "My Wife and Kids" — doesn't appear on Nielsen's list until No. 49. For the week, CBS averaged 7.83 million viewers (5.5 rating, 10 share) to edge NBC's 7.8 million (5.3, 10). Fox aver-aged 6.7 million (4.1, 8), ABC averaged 6.1 million (also 4.1, 8), UPN had 2.8 million (1.8, 3), the WB had 2.3 million (1.6, 3) and Pax TV had 1.1 million (0.8, 1). ABC's "World News Tonight" won the evening news ratings race with 9.1 million viewers (6.5 rating, 14 share), NBC's "Nightly News" had 8.9 million (6.4, 14) and the "CBS Evening News" had 7.7 million (5.5, 12).
