• by Paul Gough , March 25, 2003

Despite more than half a week interrupted by coverage of the Iraq war but bolstered by the Academy Awards, ABC won a rare victory in the primetime in both total households and a key adult demographic.

For the week ended Sunday, ABC delivered an 8.6/14 in total households to earn one of its few primetime wins in the 26-week 2002-03 TV season beyond January's Super Bowl. It was led by a 32-share for the Academy Awards and a 20 share for the preshow. ABC said the ceremony dominated in adults 18-49, adults 25-54 and men and women within each category.

Two primetime ABC News specials also made the top 25 programs, the only war-themed programs to crack the top 25. The ABC News special following the president's address to the nation giving Saddam Hussein a 48-hour deadline drew 12.6 viewers and a 4.3 rating, along with a 10-share among adults 18-49. The networks' breaking-news coverage of the war wasn't included in the Nielsen ratings.

Fox, which is challenging NBC in adults 18-49, saw success with the Tuesday and Wednesday editions of American Idol. Those programs were third and fourth in total households too. Friends and Scrubs, along with #10 Will and Grace and #12 Good Morning Miami, were broadcast the night after the war began as NBC began to return to a regular programming schedule.

The other networks' total-household ratings were NBC (6.8/11), CBS (6.2/10), Fox (6/9), The WB (1.9/3), UPN (1.8/3) and PAX (0.8/1).

In adults 18-49, ABC again won the day with a 5/13, compared to second-place Fox's 4.4/11, NBC's 4/10 and CBS' 3.1/8. The WB delivered a 1.3/3 and UPN earned a 1.2/3, while PAX came in last with a 0.3/1.

The top 10 programs according to Nielsen Media Research:

1. Academy Awards (ABC), 20.4/32.
2. Oscar Countdown 2003 (ABC), 12.6/20.
3. American Idol - Tuesday (Fox), 12.3/18.
4. American Idol - Wednesday (Fox), 10.4/15.
5. Judging Amy (CBS), 9.9/16.
6. JAG (CBS), 9.7/15.
7. Friends (NBC), 9.6/15.
8. Survivor: Amazon Special (CBS), 9.6/14.
9. Scrubs (NBC), 9.3/14.
10. Everybody Loves Raymond (CBS), 8.9/13.

The five least-rated shows in total households for the week were Gilmore Girls (The WB), two episodes of The Twilight Zone (UPN) and Angel (The WB).