• September 15, 2003

At $151,240 per 30-second spot, "8 Simple Rules For Dating My Teenage Daughter" was one of ABC's most valuable primetime shows. It ranked seventh out of 25 series on the networks fall 2003 schedule, according to estimates published this week as part of Advertising Age's annual Fall Primetime Pricing Survey. "8 Simple Rules," the John Ritter vehicle that has been thrown into doubt following the actor's sudden death, commanded an ad rate that was 31% greater than ABC's primetime average of $121,543, lowest of the Big 4 networks. At $190,215, NBC continued to dominate the prime-time pack with five of the ten most expensively priced prime-time shows. Fox placed second with an average unit rate of $153,393, followed by CBS' $127,076. "Friends" continues to be the most expensive show, fetching $474,500 per :30, up 3.9% from its fall 2002 unit rate. However, several top series reaped lower average rates this fall, including "ER" (- 7.7%), "Survivor" (-6.8%) and "Monday Night Football" (-8.4%).