TV Ratings : CBS Lands Five Shows in Top 10

With “Murphy Brown” leading the way, CBS won the first week of the 1992-93 TV season. Figures released Tuesday by the A. C. Nielsen Co. showed that CBS’ prime-time programming averaged a 13.1 rating last week, compared to 11.9 for ABC, 11.4 for NBC and 7.6 for Fox. The three major networks together attracted 61% of the prime-time viewers.

CBS had five shows among the Top 10, including the two shows that bookend “Murphy Brown” on Mondays: “Hearts Afire” at No. 5 and “Love & War” at No. 7. The network also got a strong showing on Friday night, when “The Golden Palace,” “Designing Women” and “Bob” all won their time periods.

In some of the new season’s key matchups, ABC’s “Home Improvement” again beat NBC’s “Seinfeld” at 9 p.m. Wednesday, while Fox’s “The Simpsons” reigned supreme at 8 p.m. Thursdays, beating NBC’s “A Different World,” CBS’ “Top Cops” and ABC’s “Delta.”

* NBC’s civil rights-era drama “I’ll Fly Away” was one of the best-reviewed new programs of last season and earned an Emmy Award nomination as best drama series. But its chances of surviving a second year are shaky at best. In its season debut last Friday, it ran a distant third behind ABC’s “20/20” and CBS’ new “Picket Fences,” attracting only 13% of the available audience. In its favor, however, is the fact that nothing else in NBC’s Friday lineup--”Final Appeal,” “What Happened?” and “The Round Table”--performed any better.

Points Share 1. “Murphy Brown” (CBS) 29.3 41 2. “Roseanne” (ABC) 23.9 36 3. “Coach” (ABC) 20.0 30 4. “Cheers” (NBC) 19.6 32 5. “Hearts Afire” (CBS) 19.3 29 * “I’ll Fly Away” (NBC) 7.0 13

Complete list , F8 (Each rating point represents 931,000 homes. Share is the percentage of viewing audience.)