Soviet Turmoil Boosts News Ratings

As did the Persian Gulf War, the ouster of Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev drew viewers to television news in larger than usual numbers. According to overnight A. C. Nielsen Co. figures from 26 major cities representing about half of the country’s homes with TV sets, Monday’s three major networks’ nightly newscasts were watched by about 28% more people than the previous Monday.

ABC’s “World News Tonight,” the longtime ratings leader, again finished atop the pack with an 11 rating (which equals about 4.9 million households), with “NBC Nightly News” second at 8.7 and “The CBS Evening News With Dan Rather” trailing at 8.6.

Cable News Network reported its highest one-day total since March 18, averaging a 1.6 rating (about 1 million households), more than tripling the previous Monday.