'ER' and ABC: No. 1

By Stephen M. Silverman

06/05/1998 at 12:00 AM EDT

Despite the powerhouse showings of its "ER," "Friends" and "Will & Grace," NBC retained its third-ranked position in last week's Nielsen ratings. ABC is No. 1, thanks to the season return of "NYPD Blue" (ranked 19), "The American Music Awards" (23) and the debut of the reality series "The Mole" (30). ABC also has a little something called "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" and "The Practice." (The rating is the percentage of the nation's estimated 102.2 million TV homes. Each ratings point represents 1,022,000 households.) The Top 10 for Jan. 8-14:

1. "ER," NBC, 18.8, 19.2 million homes

2. "AFC Championship Postgame: Baltimore at Oakland," CBS, 15.2, 15.5 million homes

3. "Friends," NBC, 14.8, 15.1 million homes

4. "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire," Wednesday, ABC, 14.1, 14.4 million homes

5. (tie) "Law & Order," NBC, 13.3, 13.6 million homes

6. (tie) "The Practice," ABC, 13.3, 13.6 million homes

7. (tie) "Will & Grace," NBC, 13.3, 13.6 million homes

8. (tie) "Everybody Loves Raymond," CBS, 13.2, 13.5 million homes

9. (tie) "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire," Sunday, ABC, 13.2, 13.5 million homes

10. "Frasier," NBC, 12.5, 12.8 million homes