CBS and NBC battled to a first-place draw in weekly overall ratings last week, which included the first four days of the February sweeps. Each scored a 9.2 rating and a 15 share, and each had plenty to boast about. NBC's E.R. posted the best rating for the week, but CBS's Survivor actually drew a bigger audience (29 million viewers versus 26.5 million for E.R.). The reason for the apparent discrepancy, Nielsen Research explained, is that the size of the overall audience falls off somewhat in the 10:00 hour, when E.R. airs. (Both the rating and share numbers are percentages, the first representing the percentage of homes with TV sets and the second the percentage of homes with those sets turned on.) Even with direct competition from Survivor, NBC's Friends managed to place third, and a special primetime edition of Saturday Night Live, which also aired against Survivor, wound up in the ninth spot. On the other hand CBS's new drama CSI performed strongly against E.R., winding up in fourth place. ABC came in third for the week with a 7.9/13, placing two editions of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire on the Nielsen top ten, in sixth and eighth place. Fox was last, but it, too had something to boast about. Its new reality series Temptation Island tied for 12th place.

The top ten shows of the week according to Nielsen Research: 1. E.R., NBC, 17.9/29; 2. Survivor II: The Australian Outback, CBS, 17.3/26; 3. Friends, NBC, 14.2/22; 4. CSI, CBS, 14.0/21; 5. Everybody Loves Raymond, CBS, 13.9/20; 6. Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (Wednesday), ABC, 13.4/21; 7. Will & Grace, NBC, 12.6/18; 8. Millionaire (Sunday), ABC, 12.4/18; 8. Saturday Night Live Primetime Extra, NBC, 12.4/18; 10. The Practice, ABC, 12.1/19.

Source: Studio Briefing