Date: 22nd February 2001

XFL Blamed For NBC Ratings Loss


X-ecrable ratings for its Saturday night XFL telecast again cost NBC a weekly win last week. The number of viewers for the football contest fell from 13.9 million for the opening telecast to 4.5 million for the third one, featuring the L.A. Xtreme and the Las Vegas Outlaws. It was the lowest-rated show on any of the four major networks. The fumble allowed CBS to score a win for the week with an 8.8 rating and a 14 share. NBC was in second place with an 8.4/14, edging out ABC with an 8.3/14. Fox ranked fourth with a 6.5/10.

The top ten shows of the week according to Nielsen Research: 1. E.R., NBC, 18.1/29; 2. Survivor II: The Australian Outback, CBS, 16.6/25; 3. Friends Outtakes, NBC, 14.4/21; 4. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, CBS, 14.1/21; 5. Friends, NBC, 14.0/22; 6. Law and Order, NBC, 13.8/23; 7. The Practice, ABC, 12.9/20; 8. Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (Sunday), ABC, 12.6/19; 9. Will & Grace, NBC, 12.5/19; 10. West Wing, NBC, 12.2/19.

Source: Studio Briefing