For a while last week, Fox researchers were convinced that WXIX-TV's ratings for 24 last Tuesday could make a crucial difference.

        Fox folks were desperately trying to get their fingers on accurate ratings for 24 here, which was delayed to 11:15 p.m. because of Channel 19's Cincinnati-Dayton basketball game.

        “If we pick up another 10,000 viewers, then we could round up and tie NBC in the 18-to-49 demo (demographic),” a Fox publicist explained.

        By Friday afternoon, the crisis was averted. Fox researchers had double-checked their figures and determined that Channel 19's audience couldn't push Fox into a first-place tie.

        “It turns out that NBC would have a clear win regardless,” said Joe Earley, Fox senior vice president for publicity and corporate communications.

        So NBC was declared the victor in the 18-49 demo with a 5.1 rating. Fox was second with a 5.0, followed by CBS (4.5) and ABC (4.0).

        CBS won sweeps with “total viewers” (ages 2 and up) and households. CBS swept a year of sweeps (February, May, November) for the first time since 1983-84,

        The surprise hit of sweeps was The Carol Burnett Show: Show Stoppers blooper special Nov. 26. It won the time period nationally. In Cincinnati, it drew a 27.6 rating and 40 percent audience share on Channel 12 — more viewers than Survivor: Africa here.

        Huge ratings for Carol Burnett made WKRC-TV No. 3 among all CBS markets with Nielsen meters for November, says Chris Sehring, Channel 12 general manager.

        Not so Little: Randy Little says thanks to all the Enquirer readers who wished him well.

        Mr. Little, who left WCPO-TV (Channel 9) on Friday after 20 years on Tristate TV, says he received more than 300 e-mails and another 300 calls in response to my column last week.

        While holding a 2-inch stack of e-mails, he signed off at 5:45 p.m. Friday by saying: “As I'm leaving, I want to assure you that I'm not going to run for public office.” It was a reference to former news anchors Courtis Fuller and Charlie Luken, who campaigned against each other for Cincinnati mayor.

        Mr. Little has joined the Anderson Township office of Comey & Shepherd Realtors.

        Channel 5 news: A replacement for Ken Jobe, the WLWT-TV news director who left for Detroit Nov. 9, should be hired this month. Candidates who couldn't get away during sweeps month are being interviewed this week, says A. Rabun Matthews, general manager.

        Sally Macy, the assistant news director on maternity leave, also is in the running, he says. She had a son, her second child, on Nov. 12.

        Retired Dallas TV news executive Marty Haag, a longtime friend of Mr. Matthews, has been managing the newsroom. He would like to return to his family in Texas for the holidays, Mr. Matthews says.

        Top 25: Here's a shocker: A surge in sales at QVC and the Home Shopping Network have propelled them into top 10 networks, when ranked by revenues.

        NBC is No. 1 with $4.3 billion, despite a 9 percent decline in revenues, according to Broadcasting & Cable magazine.

        QVC is second with $3.6 billion, up 11 percent.

        The rest of the top 10: 3. CBS ($3.4 billion); 4. ABC ($3.3 billion); 5. ABC's ESPN ($2 billion); 6. HBO ($1.86 billion); 7. Fox ($1.85 billion); 8. Home Shopping Network ($1.5 billion); 9. TNT ($1.06 billion); 10. Nickelodeon ($1 billion).

        The others: 11. Showtime ($905 million); 12. USA ($823 million); 13. MTV ($760 million); 14. Disney Channel ($753 million); 15. CNN ($745 million); 16. WTBS ($741 million); 17. Lifetime ($715 million); 18. Discovery ($615 million); 19. WB ($611 million); 20. Univision ($575 million); 21. Fox Sports ($565 million); 22. CNBC ($544 million); 23. A&E ($540 million); 24. Cinemax ($500 million); 25. Starz! ($460 million).

        Another way to look at the top networks is by corporate ownership:

        • Viacom: $6.15 billion for CBS, Nickelodeon, Showtime, MTV.

        • Walt Disney: $6.05 billion for ABC, ESPN, Disney Channel (not including parts of Lifetime and A&E).

        • AOL Time Warner: $5.5 billion for HBO, TNT, CNN, WTBS, WB, Cinemax.

        • NBC: $4.9 billion for NBC and CNBC (not including part of A&E).

        • News Corp.: $2.4 billion for Fox and Fox Sports.

        Potter's magic: ABC has bought TV rights to Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and the sequel, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, from Warner Bros. for a reported $130 million.

        The films will air on both ABC and Disney Channel over the 10-year deal. Chamber of Secrets will be released next November.

        E-mail jkiesewetter@enquirer.com. Past columns at Enquirer.com/columns/kiese

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