• by January 4, 2001

Once again ABC has came out on top in the network battle for adults 18-49 and total viewers, winning the race for the holiday week of Dec. 25-31 with an average of 11.7 million viewers and a 4.5 rating in adults 18-49, according to Nielsen Media Research.

Monday Night Football and repeat episodes of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" carried ABC to the Christmas-week win. MNF's season finale (Dallas vs. Tennessee) averaged 17.3 million viewers and a 7.2 rating/22 share in adults 18-49. Celebrity repeats of "Millionaire" on Tuesday Dec. 26 and Wednesday Dec. 26 finished as the week as the two most watched programs of the week across all networks. "Millionaire" averaged 18.9 million viewers on Dec. 26 and another 17.9 million on Dec. 27.

Fox finished the week in second place in adults 18-49, averaging a 3.7 rating, while NBC was third at a 3.5 and CBS fourth at 2.6. In total viewers, CBS finished second with an average of 9.4 million viewers, followed by NBC at 8.9 million and Fox with 8.6 million. A repeat episode of NBC's "Friends" was the highest rated show for the week in adults 18-49, averaging an 8.3/23 on Dec. 28. In the battle of the weblets, UPN topped The WB in both adults 18-49 (1.3 vs. 1.1) and in total viewers (3.1 million vs. 2.8 million).

The top twenty programs for the holiday week were: 1. "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire-Tuesday," ABC, 12.1, 12.3 million homes. 2. "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire-Wednesday," ABC, 11.8, 12.1 million homes. 3. "NFL Monday Night Football: Dallas at Tennessee," ABC, 11.0, 11.2 million homes. 4. "Friends," NBC, 10.5, 10.8 million homes. 5. "Fox NFC Wildcard Post Game: Tampa Bay at Philadelphia," Fox, 10.2, 10.5 million homes. 6. "Law and Order," NBC, 9.9, 10.2 million homes. 7. "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire-Thursday," ABC, 9.4, 9.6 million homes. 8. "ER," NBC, 9.2, 9.4 million homes. 9. "Will & Grace," NBC, 9.0, 9.2 million homes. 10. "The West Wing," NBC, 8.7, 8.9 million homes. 11. "NFL Monday Showcase," ABC, 8.6, 8.7 million homes. 12. "60 Minutes," CBS, 8.4, 8.6 million homes. 13. "Everybody Loves Raymond," CBS, 8.3, 8.5 million homes. 14. "The Drew Carey Show," ABC, 8.2, 8.4 million homes. 15. "Who Wants To Be a Millionaire-Sunday," ABC, 8.1, 8.3 million homes. 16. "Becker," CBS, 8.0, 8.2 million homes. 16. "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," CBS, 8.0, 8.2 million homes. 16. "The Weber Show," NBC, 8.0, 8.2 million homes. 19. "Just Shoot Me," NBC, 7.9, 8.1 million homes. 19. "Dharma & Greg," ABC, 7.9, 8.0 million homes.