TV Ratings : Old Pros and Kerrigan Help CBS Skate to Victory

ABC had the top-rated show of the week with “Home Improvement,” and NBC was second with “Frasier,” but CBS won the network race, according to figures released Tuesday by the A.C. Nielsen Co. It was helped in large measure by its Sunday night movie with Joanne Woodward and James Garner, “Breathing Lessons,” which delivered what the network said were the second best ratings for any TV movie this season--about 20.3 million homes.

CBS also won the ice-skating showdown Saturday night, with “Nancy Kerrigan & Friends”attracting viewers in about 12.6 million homes, compared to 9.8 million for ABC’s “Skates of Gold.”

CBS continues to lead in prime time for the season as a whole, in terms of reaching the most homes each week, but ABC maintains that there are, on average, more people watching TV in each of the households it reaches, so that its programming is actually seen by more viewers than CBS’. ABC says it is averaging 18.7 million viewers in prime time compared to 18.3 million for CBS. NBC and Fox trail in both categories.

Southland Ratings Here are A. C. Nielsen’s Top 10 prime-time programs in the Los Angeles area during the same week. Each rating point equals 50,064 households.

Program Station Rating 1. 60 Minutes KCBS 21.9 2. Roseanne KABC 21.3 3. Seinfeld KNBC 21.3 4. The Simpsons KTTV 21.2 5. Frasier KNBC 20.3 6. Coach KABC 18.1 7. Home Improvement KABC 18.0 8. “Breathing Lessons” KCBS 17.6 9. Wings KNBC 17.2 10. Married ... With Children KTTV 16.6

Weekly Averages

CBS 14.1

ABC 12.7

NBC 11.7

FOX 7.3

Season to Date

CBS 13.0

ABC 12.6

NBC 11.5

FOX 7.2