'Pokemon' power
Kids' WB tops all rivals for tots for first time
With Japanese import "Pokemon" snagging its best WB numbers yet among kids 2-11 (5.6 rating/21 share), and ranking as the week's top-rated show with tots, the network's overall Saturday ayem lineup averaged a best-ever 3.3/15 in the key kids demo on March 20, according to Nielsen fringe ratings data released Thursday.
Ratings for Kids' WB have soared since "Pokemon" bowed on the net last month, with last week's seg ranking as the top-rated program ever for Kids' WB among kids 2-11.
Fox (3.2/14) was a close second for the week, followed by ABC (3.0/14) and CBS (0.8/4).
Cabler Nickelodeon bested all broadcast and cable competish with a 3.9/17, while Cartoon Network averaged a 1.9/8 to finish ahead of the Eye's kid lineup.
NBC's teen-targeted Saturday sked also had a solid week, equaling its season-to-date average despite competish from MTV's annual Spring Break Weekend programming. So far this season, the Peacock's TNBC lineup is on track to score its best teen Nielsens since 1995-96.
In other fringe ratings, CBS dominated daytime for the week of March 15-19, with Eye web programs accounting for all of the week's top-five most-watched shows for the first time since June 1991. CBS also ranked first in all major daytime demo categories.
NBC's "Today" remained the most watched ayem news show, averaging a 5.3/20 (down 7% from a year ago). ABC's "Good Morning America" (3.8/14, up 12%) held onto the bump it received two weeks ago from the net's broadcast of the Monica Lewinsky interview, while the Eye's "This Morning" (2.6/10, flat) was third.
In the Sunday ayem public affairs battle, NBC's "Meet the Press" came in first for the 36th consecutive week.
