• by Ken Liebeskind , January 30, 2002

ABC and Fox snuck up to the top of the Nielsens this week, thanks to Sunday night specials. It was the first installment of Stephen King's Red Rose for ABC, and football for Fox. ABC had 20 million viewers, an 18 share and 7.4 household rating, while the NFC playoff between the Rams and Eagles on Fox had 19.3 million viewers, an 18 share and a 7.2 rating.

Part two of the King special, the highest rated entertainment program for ABC in nearly two years, was Monday night. It concludes tomorrow.

Friends (NBC) and CSI (CBS) were the top shows for the week of Jan. 21-27. Friends led the way with an audience of 23 million, a 21 share and 8.5 household rating.

Other top 10 shows were Everybody Loves Raymond (CBS), Will & Grace (NBC), Law and Order (NBC) Jag (CBS) and E.R. (NBC). Two more Fox shows, The Simpsons and Malcolm in the Middle, made the top 25. No other ABC shows did.

CBS led the week with a 13 share and 8.3 household rating. NBC was close behind (13/8.2), followed by Fox (10/6.5), ABC (10/6.2), UPN (4/2.8) and WB (4/2.5).

WWF Entertainment (TNN) took the top two cable spots for the most recent week (Jan. 14-20). A Lifetime Sunday movie, ESPN's Duke-Maryland basketball game, and MTV's Realworld followed. Household ratings for the top shows ranged from 3.6 to 2.8.

Fox, CBS and UPN led the sports ratings with NFL football and UPN's WWF Smackdown.

The top African American shows were the AFC Divisional Playoff game on CBS, Bernie Mac on Fox, My Wife and Kids on ABC, the NFC Playoff game on Fox and The Parkers on UPN.

Here are the prime-time ratings for Jan. 21-27. Top 20 listings include the week's ranking, with rating for the week and season-to-date rankings in parentheses. An "X" denotes a one-time-only presentation.

1. (1) "Friends," NBC, 14.3, 15.1 million homes.

2. (4) "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," CBS, 13.3, 14.1 million homes.

3. (X) "Fox NFC Championship Post-Game Show," Fox, 12.2, 12.8 million homes.

4. (5) "Everybody Loves Raymond," CBS, 12.1, 12.8 million homes.

5. (X) "ABC Premiere Event: Stephen King's Rose Red, Part 1," ABC, 11.8, 12.4 million homes.

6. (X) "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," CBS, 11.2, 11.8 million homes.

6. (X) "Will & Grace," NBC, 11.2, 11.8 million homes.

8. (14) "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," NBC, 11.1, 11.7 million homes.

9. (12) "Judging Amy," CBS, 10.8, 11.4 million homes.

10. (11) "JAG," CBS, 10.7, 11.3 million homes.

11. (27) "CBS Sunday Movie: My Sister's Keeper," CBS, 10.3, 11.0 million homes.

11. (6) "Law and Order," NBC, 10.3, 11.0 million homes.

13. (3) "ER," NBC, 10.2, 10.7 million homes.

13. (X) "NBC News Special: Bush White House: Real West Wing," NBC, 10.2, 10.7 million homes.

15. (7) "The West Wing," NBC, 10.1, 10.6 million homes.

16. (16) "Frasier," NBC, 10.0, 10.5 million homes.

17. (10) "Becker," CBS, 9.7, 10.3 million homes.

18. (22) "The Guardian," CBS, 9.5, 10.0 million homes.

19. (13) "Will & Grace," NBC, 9.4, 10.0 million homes.

20. (26) "Crossing Jordan," NBC, 9.2, 9.7 million homes.

Source: Nielsen Media Research