TV Ratings : It’s a Winning Week for the Newsmagazines

Faced with several new and returning TV series, newsmagazines stole the headlines with five of the six highest-rated programs last week. A repeat of “60 Minutes” on CBS topped the list, with NBC’s series premiere of “Now With Tom Brokaw and Katie Couric” on Friday night registering a strong sixth, according to numbers released Tuesday by the A.C. Nielsen Co.

“Eye to Eye With Connie Chung,” meanwhile, received its highest rating and ranking to date on CBS, finishing at No. 12.

Among the series premieres, Wednesday’s two-hour Western “Ned Blessing: The Story of My Life & Times,” starring Brad Johnson as an ex-bandit with a conscience, came out with guns blazing on CBS, tying for the No. 10 spot. CBS, the overall ratings leader for the week, will swap the time slots of its two new Friday night sitcoms because the premiere of “The Building” at 9:30 p.m. did better than “The Boys” at 9 p.m.

Fox’s second-season premiere of “Martin” and the premiere of “Living Single,” starring rapper Queen Latifah, pulled modest overall numbers, but dramatically increased Fox’s ratings in their new Sunday night time slots.