TV Ratings : ‘Seinfeld’ No. 1; ‘The Crew’ Tops Among New Shows

A few new series got an early jump on the fall season last week, but the names at the top of the ratings list released Wednesday were quite familiar: “Seinfeld,” the No. 1 series of 1994-95, and “Home Improvement,” the No. 1 show of 1993-94.

The top-rated newcomer, according to Nielsen Media Research, was Fox’s “The Crew,” co-starring Rose Jackson, which ranked 41st among the week’s 92 prime-time network programs and finished second in its Thursday time slot behind an episode of “Mad About You” on NBC. It was No. 8 locally.

UPN’s “Nowhere Man” placed 67th, which is good by UPN standards, but it failed to hold 24% of the audience from its lead-in, “Star Trek: Voyager,” which ranked 49th with its season premiere. UPN’s new drama set in a TV newsroom, “Live Shot,” was 87th.

ABC won the battle among the networks, but it wasn’t much to gloat about: With the new season only days away, the three major networks still only attracted a combined 47% of the prime-time audience.

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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.

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Program Network Rating 1. Seinfeld KNBC 16.7 2. Mad About You KNBC 15.9 3. ER KNBC 14.4 4. Friends KNBC 14.1 5. Home Improvement KABC 13.8 - Ellen KABC 13.8 7. Grace Under Fire KABC 13.6 8. The Crew KTTV 12.2 9. 60 Minutes KCBS 12.0 10. Living Single KTTV 11.9

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Weekly Averages

ABC: 8.7

NBC: 8.1

CBS: 7.8

FOX: 5.8

UPN: 4.7

WB: 2.3

Season to Date

ABC: 10.9

NBC: 10.6

CBS: 9.9

FOX: 6.8

UPN: 3.3

WB: 1.9

Source: A.C. Nielsen Ratings