Ratings from the 1990s

[soapfan770]

Nielsen Ratings from 30 years ago for December 5th-11th 1994:

The Nielsen TV ratings for last week shake down to a seasonal pattern, with 'E.R.' the only new show making a regular appearance on the top 10 program list. The ratings for the week ending Dec. 11 put 'Home Improvement' back at the top of the list, a spot that has been successfully challenged several times recently by 'Grace Under Fire,' the A.C. Nielson Co. reported Tuesday. The competition is a matter of joy for one of the networks -- ABC -- which has both shows. 'Home Improvement' got an unusually high rating of 22.3 and a 33 percent share of viewers, and 'Grace Under Fire' rated 21.5-32. Indeed, ABC is emerging as the dominant network for the 1994-95 TV season, with a 12.2 rating and 20 percent share of the viewing audience so far. Last week it registered 12-19, followed by NBC with 11.7-19 and CBS 10.7-17. Fox made a showing of 7.2-12 with only 15 hours of programming, compared to the networks' 22. ABC took Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday audiences. CBS claimed its usual dominance on Saturday and Sunday, leaving NBC with its hold on Thursday only. ABC and NBC each took four of the top 10 spots and CBS claimed two. The list included 'E.R.,' NBC's popular medical drama, in third place, followed by 'Seinfeld;' 'NYPD Blue;' '60 Minutes;' ABC's Monday night football game, Los Angeles Raiders vs. San Diego Chargers; NBC's Sunday night movie, 'National Lampoon Christmas,' a rerun; 'Murder, She Wrote;' and 'Mad About You.'

Dropping down to the top 20 list, only three other shows introduced this season were included. They are NBC's 'Madman of the People,' No. 13, NBC's 'Friends,' No. 16, and 'Me and the Boys,' No. 19. ABC was the leader, as it always is, in evening news coverage, registering 11-21. CBS was second with 9-18 and NBC third with 8.8-17. Each rating point represents about 942,000 households. A share is the percentage of TV sets in use that are tuned into a particular show or network.

1. Home Improvement ABC 22.3

2. Grace Under Fire ABC 21.5

3. E.R. NBC 21.0

4. Seinfeld NBC 20.7

5. NYPD Blue ABC 19.0

6. 60 Minutes CBS 18.2

7. Monday Night Football ABC 17.7

8. National Lampoon Christmas NBC 15.6

9. Murder, She Wrote CBS 15.4

10. Ellen ABC 15.1

11. Mad About You NBC 15.1

12. Roseanne ABC 15.1

13. Madman of The People NBC 14.9

14. 20/20 ABC 14.4

15. Full House ABC 14.3

16. Friends NBC 13.9

17. Reunion CBS 13.7

18. While Justice Sleeps NBC 13.6

19. Me and the Boys ABC 12.8

20. 48 Hours CBS 13.3

21. Murphy Brown CBS 13.0

22. Dave's World CBS 12.8

23. Hook NBC 12.6

24. Frasier NBC 12.6

25. Walker, Texas Ranger CBS 12.0

26. Nanny CBS 11.9

27. Dateline NBC NBC 11.4

28. Something Wilder NBC 11.3

29. Dr. Quinn CBS 11.1

30. Love & War CBS 11.1

31. All American Girl ABC 11.0

32. John Larroquette NBC 11.0

33. Law and Order NBC 10.8

34. Family Matters ABC 10.7

35. Gala At Ford's Theatre ABC 10.7

36. Step by Step ABC 10.7

37. Charlie Brown's Xmas NBC 10.6

38. Boy Meets World ABC 10.5

39. Northern Exposure CBS 10.5

40. Mr. Cooper ABC 10.4

41. X-Files Fox 10.4

42. Melrose Place Fox 10.3

43. It's A Wonderful Life NBC 10.2

44. Sister, Sister ABC 10.2

45. Heat Of The Night CBS 10.1

46. SeaQuest DSV NBC 10.1

47. Fresh Prince of Bel Air NBC 9.8

48. Dateline NBC NBC 9.6

49. Diagnosis Murder CBS 9.5

50. Simpsons Two Fox 9.5

51. Earth 2 NBC 9.3

52. Hearts Afire CBS 9.1

53. Funniest Home Videos ABC 9.0

54. Living Single Fox 9.0

55. Simpsons Fox 9.0

56. Matlock ABC 8.9

57. Rescue: 911 CBS 8.9

58. Chicago Hope CBS 8.7

59. Five Mrs. Buchanans CBS 8.7

60. Unsolved Mysteries NBC 8.7

61. Coach ABC 8.6

62. Dateline NBC NBC 8.6

63. Primetime Live ABC 8.6

64. Cosby Mysteries NBC 8.5

65. Married...With Children Fox 8.4

66. Martin Fox 8.4

67. Coach ABC 8.3

68. Something Wilder NBC 8.3

69. Boys Are Back CBS 8.0

70. Come Die With Me CBS 7.8

71. Touched By An Angel CBS 7.8

72. Cops 2 Fox 7.7

73. New York Undercover Fox 7.7

74. On Our Own ABC 7.7

75. Eye To Eye CBS 7.5

76. Wonderful World ABC 7.5

77. Billboard Music Awards Fox 7.3

78. Due South CBS 7.3

79. Cops Fox 7.2

80. Homicide NBC 7.1

81. My So Called Life ABC 6.4

82. George Carlin Show Fox 6.3

83. Lois & Clark ABC 6.1

84. Gladiator Fox 6.0

85. New York Undercover Fox 5.6

86. M.A.N.T.I.S. Fox 5.5

87. Party of Five Fox 5.5

88. Smart Kids Fox 4.1

 

Edited December 21, 2024 by soapfan770

[kalbir]

Friends doesn't really take off until February 1995, when NBC moved it from Thursday 8:30 pm to Thursday 9:30 pm. The following season Friends moved to Thursday 8 pm and that's when it blew up and we know the rest.

[soapfan770]

Outside of Wings and technically Frasier and Seinfeld,  Friends was the only other 8:30/9:30 NBC show of the 90s to be able to stand on its own. 

The quick collapses and plummets of shows like Caroline in the City, Boston Common, Suddenly Susan, Naked Truth,  Veronica’s Closet etc. are embarrassing and laughable. 
 

I think the first instance in the 90’s of that happening was when #17 Dear John moved out its cushy Thursday 9:30 slot and how fast it flamed out(Although it still a much better quality show than any of those late 90’s shows). 

[te.]

I missed a lot of the talk about the 1994-95 season, but it's always worthy to post the Vulture features of it from a decade ago: https://www.vulture.com/tags/1994-95-tv-week/

I think the A18-49 demographic ratings also paints a different picture from the regular Nielsen:

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As can be seen here, the youth skew of Fox's show was actually insane. Melrose Place was at #57 in the total ranking for the season, but forty places higher in the demographics, not far behind Beverly Hills 90210. Models Inc (#62) was unlucky to lose out getting a renewal considering Party of Five (#69) and New York Undercover (#60) did. 

Edited December 23, 2024 by te.

[kalbir]

@soapfan770 I've pointed this out before, but NBC got away with scheduling garbage shows at Thursday 8:30 pm/9:30 pm in the Seinfeld/ER/Friends era that finished in the Top 10 because CBS and ABC were in their primetime mess eras. It's because of the garbage shows that I don't hold the Seinfeld/ER/Friends era of NBC Thursday to the same regard that I do the The Cosby Show/Cheers era of NBC Thursday.

Edited December 23, 2024 by kalbir

[bongobong]

Caroline in the City wasn't a great show but it does deserve a tier above the rest of satellite shows. In its second year behind Frasier it held its own, even on its tryout in Frasier's slot for a week. In year 3 when it moved to Monday at 9 - though it fell to the 40s - it came in 2nd in its slot ahead of Cybill and year 1 of Ally McBeal. Of course, the wheels came off in the last year opposite a surging Everybody Loves Raymond and year 2 of Ally Beal (its highest rated season). As a fun piece of trivia, it was Will & Grace's original lead-in before the show got 2 timeslot upgrades that year.