• December 17, 2001

Rankings for the top 15 programs on basic cable networks as compiled by Nielsen Media Research for the week of Dec. 3-9. Each ratings point represents 1,055,000 households. Day and start time (EST) are in parentheses.

1. NFL Football: Seattle vs. Denver (Sunday, 8:28 p.m.), ESPN, 5.4, 5.69 million homes.

2. "Walk With the Prehistoric Beasts" (Sunday, 7 p.m.), Discovery, 3.8, 4.02 million homes.

3. "WWF Entertainment" (Monday, 10 p.m.), TNN, 3.5, 3.73 million homes.

4. Movie: "Three Days" (Sunday, 8 p.m.), Family, 3.3, 3.44 million homes.

5. "WWF Entertainment" (Monday, 9 p.m.), TNN, 3.2, 3.36 million homes.

6. Movie: "The Matrix" (Saturday, 8 p.m.), TNT, 2.8, 2.9 million homes.

7. Movie: "The Matrix" (Sunday, 8 p.m.), TNT, 2.7, 2.88 million homes.

8. "NFL Prime Time" (Sunday, 7:30 p.m.), ESPN, 2.6, 2.73 million homes.

9. Movie: "The Matrix" (Friday, 8 p.m.), TNT, 2.5, 2.65 million homes.

10. "SpongeBob SquarePants" (Monday, 8:30 p.m.), Nickelodeon, 2.4, 2.53 million homes.

11. "SpongeBob SquarePants" (Sunday, 10 a.m.), Nickelodeon, 2.4, 2.49 million homes.

12. "Hey Arnold" (Saturday, 11 a.m.), Nickelodeon, 2.3, 2.47 million homes.

13. "NFL SportsCenter" (Sunday, 11:38 p.m.), ESPN, 2.3, 2.47 million homes.

14. "SpongeBob SquarePants" (Sunday, 10:30 a.m.), Nickelodeon, 2.3, 2.46 million homes.

15. "SpongeBob SquarePants" (Tuesday, 5:30 p.m.), Nickelodeon, 2.3, 2.41 million homes.