ER at the Top of NBC Sweeps Week

By Sushuma February 28, 2000 11:06 AM

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(AP)-Despite the prime-time obsession with millionaires and instant brides, it was NBC's "ER" that reached a ratings milestone last week. The medical drama's episode Thursday, in which Kellie Martin's character died after being stabbed the previous week, drew the most viewers for any regular entertainment series since the "Seinfeld" finale in 1998. The 39 million people who watched "ER" last week was more than any episode of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" has ever drawn and more than twice the audience of Fox's special, "Who Wants to Marry a Multimillionaire." Even with all that good ratings news, ABC still won the week with a prime-time average of 15 million viewers (9.7 rating, 16 share). The reason? Three editions of the consistent "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" were the second, third and fourth most-watched shows of the week. ABC is certain to win the February ratings "sweeps" period, but is still locked in a tight battle with NBC for dominance among the 18-to-49-year-old audience that advertisers prize. Fox's "Who Wants to Marry a Multimillionaire" drew 16 million viewers and was particularly a hit among young women. But with the marriage on the rocks after a week and Fox taking heat for not knowing its bridegroom was accused of hitting an ex-girlfriend, it's an empty victory for the network. A rating point represents 1,008,000 households, or 1 percent of the nation's estimated 100.8 million TV homes. The share is the percentage of in-use televisions tuned to a given show. More results ...

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