TV Ratings : NCAA Final Game Gives CBS an Edge on Competition

With the second-most watched basketball game in history leading the way, CBS edged the competition in prime-time ratings last week--despite having only five programs in the Top 20.

Although most of the live broadcast did not air in prime time on the West Coast, the NCAA championship game between Michigan and North Carolina was still seen in nearly 21 million homes and attracted 34% of the people watching TV at the time, A.C. Nielsen Co. figures released Tuesday showed. CBS even scored big with the pregame show, “Prelude to a Championship,” which finished No. 9 for the week.

The opening day of “A League of Their Own” was not as inspiring. The highly publicized series, based on director Penny Marshall’s feature film, tied for No. 50 for the week on Saturday night. That was followed by the return of the nostalgic comedy series “Brooklyn Bridge,” whose future appears grim after logging in at No. 80.

Delta Burke’s return to ABC as a brunette, meanwhile, was bad news for Tom Arnold. “Delta” finished No. 12 for the week, while losing only 21% of the audience delivered by “Roseanne’s” strong lead-in. Arnold’s “The Jackie Thomas Show,” by contrast, was routinely losing 35% of his wife’s audience in that time slot.

Part 2 of NBC’s “Diana: Her True Story” was the top-rated movie of the week. The royal miniseries actually improved on its household rating from the week before, when it placed No. 16, to finish No. 8.

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 49,657 households.

Sta- Rat- Program tion ing 1. Roseanne KABC 21.1 2. 60 Minutes KCBS 19.1 3. Home Improvement KABC 18.5 4. The Simpsons KTTV 16.8 5. Beverly Hills, 90210 KTTV 15.8 6. Martin KTTV 15.3 7. Full House KABC 14.7 8. Seinfeld KNBC 14.6 9. Where I Live (Tues.) KABC 14.4 10. Married . . . With Children KTTV 14.4

Weekly Averages CBS: 11.8 ABC: 11.2 NBC: 10.4 FOX: 7.0

Season to Date CBS: 13.3 ABC: 12.4 NBC: 11.0 FOX: 7.7