TV RATINGS : Network Viewership at All-Time Low

Viewership of the three major networks during prime time dropped to one of the lowest levels ever last week, according to the A.C. Nielsen ratings released Tuesday. ABC, CBS and NBC, which not too many years ago accounted for 90% of the viewing, combined to attract only 50% of the audience last week, meaning one out of two viewers was tuning instead to cable, PBS, Fox, independent stations or videocassettes. Meanwhile, one night after singing the national anthem at a San Diego baseball game, Roseanne Barr’s ABC comedy drew about 1.4 million fewer homes than the previous week’s episode. “Reruns don’t matter,” her husband, Tom Arnold, said Tuesday. The full list of ratings is on Page 9.

* The return of “Twin Peaks” in reruns, fresh off receiving 14 Emmy Award nominations, drew respectable but not impressive ratings Sunday night. The much-discussed mystery/serial attracted 20% of the available viewers, representing about 10.7 million homes.

Show Points Share 1.”Cheers”(NBC) 14.7 27 2.”60 Minutes”(CBS) 13.3 28 3.”Unsolved Mysteries”(NBC) 13.0 26 3.”Empty Nest”(NBC) 13.0 26 3.”America’s Funniest Home Videos”(ABC) 13.0 24 3.”Roseanne”(ABC) 13.0 22 3.”Married ... With Children”(Fox) 13.0 22 *”Twin Peaks”(ABC) 11.6 20