'Jesus' Beats Reege

By Stephen M. Silverman

12/02/1997 at 12:00 AM EST

The first part of the CBS miniseries "Jesus" drew an estimated 24.1 million viewers on Sunday night, miraculously beating the ratings for ABC's "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" by approximately one million viewers, 24.5 million to 23.5 million. (The second "Jesus" installment airs on Wednesday.) This is the first time that the quiz show, hosted by Regis Philbin, has been so topped by a competitor. But then, when has Reege ever before had so formidable an opponent?