TV Ratings : ‘Roseanne’s’ Kiss Works Ratings Magic

If it was a publicity ploy, as some people continue to believe, the controversy surrounding “Roseanne” last week turned out to be a very successful one. Despite competition from the Grammy Awards, the episode in which Roseanne Arnold was kissed by Mariel Hemingway was the most-watched program on television for the week, attracting viewers in about 19.8 million homes, according to A.C. Nielsen ratings released Tuesday.

By contrast, “Tom,” the comedy starring Roseanne’s husband, Tom Arnold, was seen in about 10.5 million homes in its first outing on CBS. It ranked 50th among the week’s 90 prime-time network programs.

Still, it was CBS, even without the Winter Olympics, that won the network competition last week, followed by ABC, NBC and Fox. Fox, however, said it beat its rivals among viewers between the ages of 18 and 34.

In other debuts last week, CBS’ “The Road Home,” with Ed Flanders and Karen Allen, won its time period Saturday at 9 p.m., and ABC’s “Byrds of Paradise,” starring Timothy Busfield, ran a close second to NBC’s “Wings” at 8 p.m. Thursday.

Southland Ratings

Here are A. C. Nielsen’s Top 10 prime-time programs in the Los Angeles area during the same week. Each rating point equals 50,064 households.

Program Station Rating 1. Roseanne KABC 24.8 2. 60 Minutes KCBS 21.6 3. The Simpsons KTTV 19.9 4. Coach KABC 19.8 5. Melrose Place KTTV 18.1 6. Beverly Hills, 90210 KTTV 18.1 7. Married...With Children KTTV 17.1 8. Home Improvement KABC 16.6 9. Seinfeld KNBC 16.6 10. NYPD Blue KABC 15.9

Weekly Averages

CBS 14.0

ABC 11.8

NBC 11.0

FOX 7.4

Season to Date

CBS 14.5

ABC 12.4

NBC 11.3

FOX 7.2