TV: 'Friends' Vs. 'Raymond'

By Stephen M. Silverman

Thursday July 09, 1998 12:00 AM EDT

• Facebook
• Twitter
• Yahoo Buzz
• E-mail

In the Nielsen race, it's now "Everybody Loves Raymond" versus "Friends" for the title of the most popular comedy show on the air. While NBC's "Friends" still retains the crown, CBS's "Raymond" is moving in fast. The other TV news is that NBC has shelved two sitcoms, "Daddio" and "Tucker," and that ABC's "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" is attracting older viewers, beyond the 18-to-49-year-old demographic group that advertisers so love. The Nielsen Top 10 for Oct. 16-22 (the rating is the percentage of the nation's estimated 100.8 million TV homes, with each point representing 1,008,000 households):

1. "ER," NBC, 18.0, 18.4 million homes

2. "Friends," NBC, 15.2, 15.5 million homes

3. "Everybody Loves Raymond," CBS, 14.1, 14.4 million homes

4. "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" (Wednesday), ABC, 14.0, 14.2 million homes

5. "Will & Grace" special, NBC, 13.8, 14.0 million homes

6. "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" (Sunday), ABC, 13.1, 13.4 million homes

7. "Will & Grace," NBC, 12.7, 12.9 million homes

8. "World Series Game 2: NY Mets vs. NY Yankees," Fox, 12.6, 12.9 million homes

9. "The Practice," ABC, 12.5, 12.7 million homes

10. "Becker," CBS, 12.3, 12.5 million homes