European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 24, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse Lbs a season sweep by Scott Willams a television writer is became the first network to claim television s triple Crown winning the 1993-94 ratings in Day time late night and for the third straight season prime time. Abc with the season s top rated series Home improvement and nine of the top 20 shows was second but insisted it had More hit shows and greater demographic Appeal. We re no. 1 in adults 18 to 49 two seasons in a Row on All programs four seasons if we just look at regular programs said Peter cd Ris Anthopulos executive vice president for research. And he said and cd would be virtually even if lbs two weeks of olympic coverage weren t counted. In prime time lbs earned a 14.0 rating and a 23 share for the season that began sept. 20,1993, arid ended last sunday. Abc had a12.4 and 20, an 11.0 and 18. Fox broadcasting co., which expanded to seven nights of programming in 15 of the 22 prime time hours averaged a 7.2 rating and an 11 share Down from 7.7 last season arid 8.8 in 1991-92. A rating Point equals 942,000 Homes or 1 percent of the 94,2 million to households estimated by the . Nielsen co. Share is the percentage of sets tuned in to a network during a specific time period. In the daytime lbs had a 6.4 rating and a 23 share. Abc had a 4.9 and 17, arid a3.1 and 11. Lbs has won the daytime ratings for the last 10 seasons and has gone undefeated in the weekly daytime ratings for the past five years. In late night lbs late show with David Letterman had a 5.8 rating and an 18 share exceeding the network s most optimistic expectations s nightlife had a 5.0 and 18, and s tonight show had a 4.4 and 13. David Poltrack lbs executive vice presi Dent for research said it s the first triple Crown in the history of network television. Poltrack said lbs won prime time with 16 weeks As no. 1 and never finished below Sec Ond All season. The top 25 shows for the 1993-94 season sept. 20-april 17 1. Home improvement . 2. 60 minutes.,.,. Lbs 4. Roseanne. Abc 5. These friends Fine. Abc 6. Grace under . Abc 8, coach. Abc 9. Murder she 10.nfl monday night football 11. Murphy Brown cbs12. Lbs sunday move. Lbs 13. Thunder Alley. Abc 14. 20/20 .abc15. Love and War. .,.,., lbs 16. Northern exposure. Lbs 17. Win Psi 18. Full House. .v.t.t7r. Abc 18. Primetime live 20. Dave s world. Lbs 21. Or. Quinn Medicine woman. Lbs 21. Nype blue.,.,. Abc 21. Rescue Ujj. Lbs 24. Turning Point abc25. The fresh Prince of Bel air Arsenio halt hosted Clinton blasted Bush. Hall turning out his party was fun by Rick do brow los Angeles times. Ursenio Hall was getting boxed in. After turning late night to on its head by bringing to it a new pop culture sensibility and rocketing to the run Ner up talk show spot behind Johnny Carson he suddenly fell victim to High powered rivals challenging some of his trademarks including his musical bookings arid party atmosphere. Abc s new tonight show with Jay Leno replacing Carson seemingly attempted to go the Arsenio route at first in its musical acts. Lbs David Letterman series stormed out of the starting Gate last August with a High Energy party atmosphere of its own arid has t yet cooled . Letterman Leno. That s All any one seemed to be talking about when it came to late night Competition. Lbs was pressuring its stations that had carried Hall to drop him or push him Backwater to help the network s Letterman showcase. Fox had done the same to its own stations when it launched the ill fated Chevy Chase late night show in unless Hall had an unknown personal reason for quitting it was hardly a Surprise when he and Paramount announced monday that he will be end ing his 5-year-old syndicated series on May 27. The ratings had fizzled in the face of the new Competition and the pressures to downgrade his time Slot. Hall s National ratings dropped 24 percent from Jan uary 1993 to january 1994, and the number of stations carrying his show slipped from 184 to 160. At one Point he had been so hot that thigh line a solid contender for years against Carson found itself frustrated because some of its stations were de laying the honoured news show until the wee hours and ing it with Hall. Other late night icons have also had relatively Short runs Steve Allen and Jack Paar on the tonight show for in stance although they both left the series while on top. Still Hall s series somehow seems to have faded relatively quickly unlike most late night hosts who seek a kind of enter Taining neutrality Hall openly plunged into political and social issues which endeared him to some viewers especially in his positive and admirable to role during the violence following the initial Rodney King verdicts. At other times however his outspokenness Proba Bly got him into hot water with no fans. And Here too he May have helped Box himself in. The year 1992 was a kind of High water Mark for controversy and some remarkable showmanship for Hall s series. The showmanship was epitomized in Early june 1992 when Bill Clinton in route to the presidency made a memorable appearance on Hall s one hour program wearing shades and playing the saxophone Heartbreak hotel followed by Billic Holiday s god bless the child shortly afterwards a White House spokesman said president Bush was considering appearances on the same kind of Media As other candidates except for the Hall show. Hall reacted part the air with a person Al tirade against Bush saying excuse me George Herbert irregular heart beating read my lying lipping slipping in the polls do nothing deficits raising make less Moncy than Millie the White House dog last year Quayle Iov ing sushi puking Bush i Don t remember inviting your ass to my also in 92, Hall unloaded on Leno As Carson s ton go show heir telling entertainment weekly Magazine Jay Leno can t replace Johnny Carson. It sounds like an insult. I m Gonna treat him like we treated the kid on the High school basketball team who was the coach s son. He was there because he was anointed too. We tried to kick his ass and that s what i m going to do kick Jay s it did hot work out that Way Letterman last year immediately grabbed the late night Crown but Leno has held his own and Hall went into a tailspin. Hall s exit in May will open the door for other Wanna be later night hosts. But with the fallout rate this season including upper tier names such As Chase and Hall plus the disappointing showing of s Conan o Briers it seems As if the witching hours at the moment belong strictly to Letterman and Leno aridity Ted Koppel on ugh Olinc. On the Downside late night talk show territory again is strictly the Domain of White middy age men. While Hall is Black in t it time to consider other emerging minorities As Well for candidates and Are there no women out there deemed worthy of major National exposure As late night entertainment and talk show hosts just because whoops Goldberg s talk show went under is no reason to Stop looking. No one can deny that Hall has flair. The late night gig is a Tough one As other failed big name entries in recent years Pat Sajak Rick decs and Dennis Miller can attest. On his show Hall did the usual celebrity inter views but he also supported Nelson Mandela celebrated Martin Luther King Day talked with magic Johnson about being his positive discussed music censorship with ice to and presented lesbian Comedi an Lea Delaria. Like him or not As an entertainer. Hall did have a presence and an attitude. He Shook things up. And he definitely was a major Factor in television for five years before the fat lady Sang. April 24,1994 sunday Page 11
