'Seinfeld' Takes a Plunge

By Stephen M. Silverman

04/02/1998 at 12:00 AM EST

Have Jer, Elaine, Kramer and George lost their allure? According to last week's Nielsen ratings for syndicated shows, the numbers for "Seinfeld" repeats are the lowest they've ever been, due largely, it seems, as a result of the switch to Daylight Savings Time. The 4.0 household rating for the sitcom about nothing represents a 5% dip from the prior week, when the show hit its lowest national household rating since debuting in syndication in September 1995. The new score is also down 22% from the sitcom's season-to-date 5.1 average and down 25% from the same week last year. Not that "Seinfeld" suffered on its own. "Friends" reruns were down 7% from the previous week (and 9% lower than they rated last year), "Frasier" dipped 4% from the prior week (and 4.9% from last year) and "Drew Carey" was down 6% for the week (and 15% compared to last year). Besides Daylight Savings Time -- when viewers traditionally spend less time in front of their TVs -- "Seinfeld" also faced the switching of stations in some 13 markets in conjunction with the start of its second syndication cycle.