• by Ken Liebeskind , June 26, 2002

Much has been said about the new shows that have been introduced this summer, compared with past summers when reruns predominated. Some are already making the Nielsen ratings. This week's list of top 25 shows includes American Idol, Fox's superstar contest show, which runs twice a week and was ranked sixth and 12th; Dog Eat Dog, the NBC game show, ranked eighth; Yes, Dear, the CBS sitcom, ranked 14th; and NBC's reality show, Spy TV, ranked 18th.

The ranking of American Idol boosted Fox past ABC for third place in prime average, with a 7 share/3.8 household. ABC was 7/3.6. CBS led the way this week, 11/6 with NBC second, 10/5.1.

CBS won with its mainstays which won the top four spots: CSI, Everybody Loves Raymond, 48 Hours and Becker. CSI scored a 17 share/5.6 household with 15 million viewers. Law and Order and Law and Order: SVU led the way for NBC.

Cable leaders for the most recent week were Dead Zone (USA), WWE Entertainment (TNN), Prime Movie--Too Young to be Dad (LIF) and Spongebob (Nick), with Dead Zone earning a 3.9 household with 4 million households tuned in.

Syndicated leaders were Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy, Friends, Seinfeld and Judge Judy, with Wheel scoring a 7.7 household with 8 million household viewers.

Sports leaders for the most recent week (June 10-16) were the NBA finals (NBC), the U.S. Open (NBC), Fox NASCAR Winston Cup and Stanley Cup hockey finals (ABC). The NBA on NBC scored a 19 share and 10.8 household, with 11.3 households viewing. The U.S. Open had a 22 share/8.9 household with 9.4 million households.

In other sports news, the U.S. loss to Germany in World Cup soccer was ESPN's highest rated soccer telecast ever, with 3.77 million homes tuned in last Friday and a household rating of 4.36. ESPN's ratings are up 19% for the World Cup compared with four years ago.

In other TV news, Connie Chung's prime time news show on CNN debuted Monday, competing with the Fox News Channel's show starring Bill O'Reilly. Chung's show fits into the CNN lineup that includes Larry King Live and Aaron Brown's Newsnight, which follow Chung.