Ratings Archives: Week of July 6, 1998

It was a three way battle in the weekly ratings, for the week of July 6, 1998, as NBC, CBS and ABC are separated by less than a point, with NBC's margin of victory over CBS, at just two tenths of a ratings point. FOX was a solid "middle of the road" with its 4.2 ratings, while the WB tops UPN for the 5th spot of the week.

NBC had five of the top six shows, including the MLB All-Star Game, at #1. The baseball game grabbed 19 million viewers, three million more viewers than the #2 show, 60 MINUTES. In total, NBC had 10 programs in the top 20.

CBS was lean at the top of the chart, getting just four shows in the top 20, but CBS' strength appears to be solid, not great, numbers from a majority of its shows. only four CBS shows ranked worse than the #50 position, three of which were on Friday and Saturday nights.

ABC was a close third place, pushing five shows in the top 20, three of which were newsmagazines. The network did dow well with the rearing of the Stephen King project THE STAND, as it ranked 21st, on Sunday night.

FOX does not perform well without its major guns, THE SIMPSONS, THE X-FILES, in repeats. The networks best performer was the Thursday Night Movie speical of the theatrical BAD BOYS, at #45.

The week's five lowest rated programs were:

105) THE PARENT 'HOOD (WB) - 1.8 HH rating / 4 share
105) UNHAPPILY (WB) - 1.8 HH rating / 4 share
107) LOVE BOAT (UPN) - 1.7 HH rating / 3 share
108)  CLUELESS(UPN) - 1.6 HH rating / 3 share
109) THE SENTINEL (UPN) - 1.5 HH rating / 3 share
110) CLUELESS (UPN) - 1.3 HH rating / 2 share

Nielsen Broadcast ratings chart for the week of July 6, 1998.