The Programming Insider -- Thursday 1/30/03

Primetime Metered Market Ratings

Wednesday 1/29/03

Primetime Metered Market Ratings
NETWORK	HH RATING/SHARE
	15.4/22
	8.8/13
	7.8/11
	7.8/11
	3.1/4
	2.1/3

-Yesterday's Winners:
That'70s Show (Fox), American Idol (Fox), Law & Order R (NBC)

-Honorable Mention:
The Bachelorette (ABC)

-Yesterday's Losers:
Movie: War Stories (NBC)

-Ratings Breakdown:
Proof positive of the power of broadcast television was American Idol and The Bachelorette last night. Although Fox's American Idol led the primetime troops with a considerable 17.4/24 from 8:30-10 p.m., ABC's competing The Bachelorette held up with a 10.1/14 in the same 90-minute block. Even CBS's Star Search managed to generate some interest, with a 7.5/11 in the 8:30 p.m. half-hour opposite both shows. Overall, the just-extended Star Search averaged a not-too-shabby 8.2/12 from 8-9 p.m.

Assuming there was pre tune-in for American Idol, Fox's recently relocated That'70s Show opened the evening with a first-place 9.6/14 at 8 p.m. -- 19 percent above ABC's second-place My Wife and Kids (8.1/12). Lost in the competitive shuffle was NBC's made-for pilot War Stories, with a 5.8/8 from 8-10 p.m.

Better news for NBC was a repeat of veteran Law & Order at a first-place 11.8/18 at 10 p.m. -- 47 percent ahead of a repeat of CBS's 48 Hours (8.0/12) and 66 percent above ABC's Celebrity Mole: Hawaii (7.1/11). So long, Michael Boatman -- I was wrong, you're not The