Peacock Network Has Reason to Strut

Buoyed by powerhouse results for “Schindler’s List,” the miniseries “Asteroid” and its Thursday night stalwarts, NBC has won the February ratings sweeps in convincing fashion despite an overall viewing decline for the major networks.

Riding the coattails of “Seinfeld,” “ER” and “Friends,” NBC has now ranked first in prime time through nine consecutive sweeps periods over more than two years, and the network’s success there has filtered throughout the broadcast day.

Though final averages outside prime time won’t be available till next week, Matt Lauer’s promotion to co-host on “Today” helped the morning program widen its lead over “Good Morning America,” and “The NBC Nightly News” has broken ABC’s longtime first-place stranglehold in that race.

“The Tonight Show With Jay Leno” is also expected to post its biggest sweeps advantage ever versus “Late Show With David Letterman,” as well as the late-night program’s best February performance since 1990, when Johnny Carson still sat behind the desk.

That victory is especially sweet to NBC executives--once skewered for letting Letterman get away--in light of the hoopla surrounding Letterman’s 15th anniversary in late night. In addition, rancor briefly reignited over NBC’s refusal to provide the host clips from his old show to mark that event.

NBC’s “Saturday Night Live,” once seen as being on its last legs, improved on its 1996 sweeps results as well. Even NBC’s daytime lineup--while still in the ratings cellar--delivered its most competitive finish in years compared to perennial leader CBS and ABC.

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Choosing a prime-time runner-up depends on your point of view but, perhaps foremost, the sweeps marked a milestone for Fox. The network, which will celebrate its 10th anniversary this spring (the first Fox prime-time shows premiered in April 1987), claimed second place in the key 18-to-49-year-old demographic that most directly affects advertising rates--a first for Fox during a major November, February or May ratings survey.

Fox Entertainment Group President Peter Roth called the conclusion of the sweeps Wednesday night “a red-letter day for our company,” in terms of the network competitively coming of age.

By contrast, ABC--the No. 1 network during the 1994-95 season, before NBC took over--has now ranked third in households through four sweeps, dating back to last February. At that time, Disney Chairman Michael Eisner pledged to network affiliates--who rely heavily on sweeps to determine local ad rates--that such an indignity would not be repeated.

In total viewers, NBC was watched by 17 million people during an average hour of prime time through the four-week sweeps period, compared to 14.4 million viewing CBS, 14.1 million for ABC and 12.3 million who tuned in Fox.

NBC Entertainment President Warren Littlefield maintained that his network has “clearly separated ourselves from the rest of the pack.”

NBC’s accomplishments included a wide advantage from 10:30-11 p.m., a key window to stations because it leads directly into late local news. That audience in turn helps feed viewers into late night--especially Thursdays, when the overflow from “ER” sharply increases “The Tonight Show’s” margin of victory.

Despite greater differentiation of their product--with Fox drawing younger viewers (the network was actually first among adults age 18-34), CBS returning to a lineup more appealing to its traditional older audience, and NBC and ABC in the middle--network viewing in general continued to decline.

Combined ratings dropped about 5% versus a year ago, as competing options, ranging from the proliferation of new cable channels to the Internet, continue to gradually whittle away at the networks’ share of audience.

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Still, the sweeps also demonstrated broadcasting’s ability to lure viewers back in numbers that can’t be equaled by other media. Well over 30 million people watched “Asteroid” (the highest-rated miniseries since Stephen King’s “The Stand” in 1994) and the 3 1/2-hour telecast of “Schindler’s List,” more than saw the Oscar-winning film in theaters.

Fox’s success stemmed in part from improved ratings Sunday, thanks to “The X-Files” and the new animated comedy “King of the Hill,” which has frequently out-performed “The Simpsons,” which leads into it, since premiering in January. The drama “Party of Five” also achieved record ratings for the show during February.

At the other end of the spectrum, Fox garnered big audiences with so-called “reality” specials such as “When Animals Attack,” “Close Call: Cheating Death” and “World’s Scariest Car Chases,” which depict graphic video of accidents.

NBC West Coast President Don Ohlmeyer renewed his criticism of Fox for airing such fare Wednesday, having in the past likened the specials to “snuff films.” Fox’s Roth countered by saying there’s room to show programs not everyone will embrace. “The key to a successful prime-time schedule is in its balance,” he said.

* THE NEW CHAMP

“Rosie O’Donnell” unseats “Oprah Winfrey Show” for the first time locally in the February sweeps. F29