NBC takes 18-49
-- Broadcasting & Cable, 8/7/2000
NBC eked out a victory in adults 18-49, while ABC narrowly took home the prize for most viewers for the week ended July 30.
Carried by strong ratings for reruns of Friends and Will & Grace, along with a good start by new series Mysterious Ways, NBC averaged a network-best 3.5 rating for the week, according to Nielsen Media Research. With Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? and Survivor still pulling their weight, ABC and CBS tied for second place in the 18-49 race, averaging a 3.4 rating. In total viewers, ABC topped CBS with a 9.7 million-viewer average to CBS' 9.6 million. NBC finished third with 8.9 million viewers.
The top-rated show for the week was CBS' Survivor, which averaged an 11.9 rating/36 share in adults 18-49 and 27.2 million viewers.
Mysterious Ways, which is sharing a window with co-owned network Pax TV, brought in a surprising 12 million viewers on Monday night. FOX finished the week in fourth place in both adults 18-49 (2.7 rating) and in total viewers (5.9 million), but the network was No. 1 among all nets in adults 18-34 and men 18-34.
UPN topped The WB once again in both categories, averaging a 1.3 rating in adults 18-49 and 3.2 million viewers. The WB scored a 1.0 rating in adults 18-49 and 2.4 million viewers.
