Ratings for ABC, NBC show weak spots at prime time

[May 19, 2010]  NEW YORK (AP) -- ABC and NBC have promised to improve prime time's last hour next season, and last week shows why.

The Nielsen Co. says Jerry Seinfeld's "Marriage Ref" reached fewer than 4 million viewers at 10 p.m. last Thursday. That's a fraction of the 20 million-plus viewers that "ER" used to draw in the same time slot during the 1990s, a key component of NBC's financial success.

Viewers turned away from NBC as the night went on. "The Office" had 6.6 million viewers at 9 p.m.

The effect was more pronounced Wednesday at ABC, where the dead-on-arrival drama "Happy Town" barely reached 3 million. That was less than half the audience for "Cougar Town," the series that directly preceded it.

ABC and NBC have new shows scheduled for the 10 p.m. slots in the fall.

[Associated Press]

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