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Fox sweeps ABC aside
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March 6, 1998: 8:47 a.m. ET
Fox beats one of the Big Three for first time in terms of total viewership
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Fox Broadcasting Co. has beaten one of the Big Three television networks in sweeps week for the first time by muscling aside ABC, figures released by Nielsen Media Research indicate.
During the latest sweeps month - Feb. 5 through March 4 -- Fox was watched by an average 12.2 million prime time viewers, compared with 11.7 million for ABC.
Fox's strong suit has usually been viewership among young adults, but the February sweeps period was the first time it has beaten one of the Big Three in terms of overall viewers.
Fox's ratings were helped by its current strong lineup including "Ally McBeal" and "The X-Files."
ABC, owned by Walt Disney Co. (DIS), has had trouble this year with the tepid reception given such new shows as "Soul Man" and "Cracker." It also has been hurt by declines in previous ratings-grabbers like "Ellen."
The sweeps months are important for broadcasters because networks use the ratings to determine how much they can charge advertisers in the future.
CBS was the easy winner, as expected, due to its coverage of the Nagano Winter Olympics, with an average of 20.9 million viewers during the month. Still, that was considered a disappointment for the network.
Overall, CBS' total rating was 13.8 for the month, with each ratings point equaling 980,000 homes. NBC was second with a 9.6 rating. While ABC and Fox had an identical rating of 8, Fox held the advantage in overall viewers.
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