Friday May 25 01:34 AM EDT

 'Voyager' booster rocket for UPN

 By Cynthia Littleton

 LOS ANGELES (The Hollywood Reporter) --- UPN got a much-needed lift on the last night of the  May sweep and the 2000-01 season as Wednesday's series finale of "Star Trek: Voyager" delivered the network's highest ratings in nearly four years.

 The two-hour swan song of "Voyager" pulled in 8.8 million viewers and a 4.6 rating/13 share in the
 adults 18-49 demographic, according to Nielsen Media Research.

 That amounted to UPN's highest-rated night since the 1997-98 season premiere of "Voyager" in
 September 1997, and it was strong enough to give UPN a third-place showing from 8-10 p.m. time
 slot behind NBC and Fox.

 But it was back-to-back episodes of "Law & Order" from 9-11 p.m. that won the night overall for
 NBC. The 10 p.m. episode ranked as "Law & Order's" most-watched season finale in the series
 11-year history with an average of 20 million viewers and 8.2/22 in 18-49.

 CBS and NBC split the bragging rights for the May sweep (April 26-May 23) and the 2000-01
 season in total viewers and the adults 18-49 demo, respectively.

 CBS finished out the May book with 12.7 million viewers, up 8% from May 2000, while NBC
 averaged a 5.1/15 in 18-49, down 7% from last May.

 Fox finished out the sweep and the season as a strong No. 2 to NBC in 18-49. For the sweep, Fox
 averaged a 4.3/12, up 5% from May 2000. The "Survivor" finale boosted CBS into third place in the  demo (4.0/11, up 18%) ahead of ABC (3.8/11, down 31%).

 NBC placed second to CBS in total viewers (12.2 million, down 3%) for the sweep, while ABC
 dropped 29% to 10.9 million viewers. Fox was up 5% to 8.8 million.

 The WB Network climbed 11% to 3.8 million viewers, while UPN dropped 4% to 3.9 million. The
 WB rounded out the book with double-digit gains in its target demos of viewers 12-34, adults 18-34  and women 18-34.

 UPN hit a downturn in 2000-01, but the results from Wednesday's "Voyager" finale were an
 encouraging sign that the network can be competitive with the right programming. A new installment of  the "Star Trek" franchise, "Enterprise," is headed to UPN next season, along with the erstwhile WB Network hit "Buffy the Vampire Slayer."

 "First and foremost, the indicators from the 'Voyager' wrap-up are that if we put the right kind of 'Star  Trek' programming on, there's great enthusiasm for it," said UPN entertainment president Tom Nunan.  "The 'Voyager' finale bodes extremely well for 'Enterprise's' premiere next fall."

Friday May 25 1:18 AM ET

 ''Law,'' ``Voyager'' shine at sweeps end

 By Rick Kissell

 HOLLYWOOD (Variety) - NBC sprinted to the finish line on  Wednesday, capping a strong May sweep with another powerful  performance behind the season finales of ``Ed'' and ``Law & Order.''

 The final night of the season also saw a monster turnout for UPN's series finale of ``Star Trek: Voyager,'' a solid but unspectacular wrap for Fox's ``Boot Camp'' and mild marks for ABC's comedy finales.

 NBC, which tied its own record this month (set in the 1980s) with a seventh straight May sweeps
 victory in the coveted adults 18-49 demographic, took the month by the largest margin for any sweep winner in the last two seasons. It topped runner-up Fox by eight-tenths of a ratings point (5.1 rating,  15 share vs. 4.3/12) after winning the February sweep by two-tenths and November 2000 by six-tenths.

 UPN improved its May marks nicely with Wednesday's two-hour series finale of ``Voyager,'' which
 won its 8-10 p.m. block in several of Nielsen's biggest markets, including New York (11.8/17 in
 households) and San Francisco (10.8/17).

 ``Voyager'' (8.81 million, 4.6/13 in adults 18-49) gave UPN its seventh biggest night ever -- and
 largest since the show's season premiere in September 1997 -- and led the network to a second-place demo finish on the night. The big night also enabled UPN to pull even with last May's performance in adults 18-49 and to move ahead of the WB in overall audience for the month.

 CBS long ago wrapped things up as the month's most-watched network for the first time in 18 years.  Powered by ``Survivor: The Australian Outback,'' ``CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'' and its Monday comedies, CBS topped No. 2 NBC by more than half a million viewers after finishing third a year ago. It also moved up to second in adults 25-54 -- its target demographic -- women 25-54 and women 18-49.

 And in adults 18-49, CBS finished ahead of one of the other three major networks (ABC) in a sweep  for the first time since February 1998 -- and for the first time without Olympics help since November  1994, when it topped Fox.

 ABC, which won all three sweeps in adults 18-49 last season (tying with NBC in May 2000), finished  fourth in a sweep for only the second time ever. It finished no higher than third in any major category,  including overall audience, a measure it won by nearly 3 million viewers a year ago.

 Fox finished second in adults 18-49 with its most competitive May sweep ever -- eight-tenths behind  NBC. It also enjoyed its most competitive May in adults 18-34, coming up a tick short of catching  NBC for what would have been its first May win by this measure.

 The network racked up strong demo finishes for the month, including first-place in men 18-49, men
 18-34, male teens and total teens. It also placed second in women 18-34, men 25-54 and female
 teens.

 The WB, which showed the most consistent year-to-year growth of any network throughout the
 season, shined in May as well. It was up 18% vs. last May in adults 18-34 (to 2.0/6) and 23% in
 women 18-34 (to 2.7/8). Wednesday's season finales of ``Dawson's Creek'' (4.85
 million, 2.5/7 in adults 18-49) and ``Felicity'' (3.86 million, 2.0/5) improved by about 10% vs. last
 year's finales.

 Elsewhere on the final night of the season, NBC won by 4 shares over second-place Fox in adults
 18-49 (6.1/17 vs. 4.5/13) and by 5.4 million viewers over second-place ABC in overall audience. It  was NBC's 13th nightly demo victory in the sweep.

 ``Law & Order'' won both of its hours with original episodes from 9 to 11, led by a commanding
 11-share demo victory at 10 for its season finale (20.03 million, 8.2/22 in A18-49). It ended the
 sweep with the highest adults 18-49 (6.8/18) and total viewer (17.7 million) averages in its 11-year
 history.

 ``Ed'' ended its first season on a high note as well, winning its hour in adults 18-49 (4.1/12) and total  viewers (9.95 million).

 Fox won the night's opening half-hour with a repeat of ``That '70s Show'' (4.1/13 in adults 18-49),
 placed third at 8:30 with ``Grounded for Life'' (3.9/11) and second at 9 with the season finale of
 ``Boot Camp'' (5.1/13). ``Boot,'' which never approached ``Temptation Island ''-like  numbers for Fox, was a solid performer nonetheless and won its hour in adults 18-34 with eight of its
 nine episodes, including Wednesday's (6.3/17).

 ABC's one-hour finales of ``Spin City '' (8.25 million, 3.8/11 in adults 18-49) and  ``Drew Carey'' (9.03 million, 4.4/11) placed third in the demo. The lackluster night, unfortunately, was  typical of the network's late-season swoon and a far cry from the final night of last season -- when  Michael J. Fox's finale from ``Spin City'' and a monster performance from ``Who Wants to Be a  Millionaire (news - web sites)'' capped a strong May and 19999-2000 campaign by dominating its competition.

 CBS capped its season with a better-than-usual Wednesday courtesy of the network premiere of
 ``Conspiracy Theory'' (8.83 million, 2.8/8 in adults 18-49). It remained fourth by most measures (fifth  in some) on a night that gets a complete overhaul next fall.

 Reuters/Variety REUTERS

Thursday May 24 07:09 PM EDT

 Primetime Metered Market Ratings: Voyager Closes on a
 High Note

 No, there is not a typo on the nightly ratings chart. The two-hour series finale of UPN's Star Trek:
 Voyager skyrocketed to an 8.3/12; fueling the weblet to the number two finish overall  for the night. This is quite an accomplishment for a show that never really lived up to early expectations.

 NBC, of course, took Wednesday based on the strength of back-to-back episodes of Law & Order  (9 p.m. 12.7/18, 10 p.m. 15.7/24). Ed at 8 p.m. closed its freshman season at a modest second place  7.4/11 - 6 percent below the first hour of Voyagerr.

 On ABC, the one-hour lackluster season enders of Spin City (news - Y! TV) at 8 p.m. (6.2/10) and  Drew Carey at 9 p.m. (6.6/10) means that both sitcoms are headed for disaster in what will probably  be their final seasons next fall. In what seems like a new tradition, ABC capped off the May sweeps  with a 10 p.m. edition of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire at a (second place)
 9.0/14. Sorry, Reege, you're no longer unstoppable anymore.

 CBS had nothing to talk about last night with 1997 Mel Gibson/Julia Roberts theatrical Conspiracy
 Theory failing to impress at an overall third place 6.9/11. Even the pretty woman doesn't always deliver  pretty ratings.

 On Fox it was consistent Wednesday night business as usual with a repeat of That'70s Show and
 Grounded for Life each at a 5.1/ 8 followed by the conclusion of Boot Camp (with Whitlow the
 ultimate winner) at a respectable 6.9/10. While it was no Survivor or Temptation Island , there was an audience for Boot Camp.

 Last, and least, was the season finale episodes of The WB's Dawson's Creek (news - Y! TV) (4.8/ 8)  and Felicity (3.7/ 5). For more on Wednesday check out today's Looking Ahead to Fall 2001 section.

 Wednesday 5/23/01

  HH Rtg/Shr NBC 11.9/18
 UPN 8.3/12
 ABC 7.3/11
 CBS 6.9/11
 Fox 6.0/ 9
 WB 4.3/ 6

 -Yesterday's Winners:
 Star Trek: Voyager (UPN), Law & Order (NBC)

 -Yesterday's Losers:
 Conspiracy Theory (CBS), Spin City (ABC), Drew Carey (ABC)

 Source: Nielsen Media Research

 -- Marc Berman

'Voyager' Pulls Home Run For UPN
Thu, May 24, 2001 06:19 PM PDT

LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) -  Star Trek: Voyager" drew to a close Wednesday night (May 23) with a full show of support its fans, with 8.8 million total viewers tuning in to say goodbye to the science fiction series that has been on the air seven years. The audience turnout represented the network's largest primetime viewership since " Voyager's" third season debut in September of 1997.

 The two-hour season finale, which finally saw the Voyager crew's return to Earth, took third place during the 8 to 10 p.m. time period among total viewers. The finale was also UPN's fifth highest rated night ever among Adults 18-49 (4.6/13) and seventh in households (5.5/9).

 " Voyager" came in second in Adults 18-49, and also won the time period among Men 18-49 (5.8/17) and Men 25-54 (5.8/16)."

Toronto Ratings

Just as Voyager impressed in major American markets, the ratings for "Endgame" were very strong in the main Canadian market, Toronto.

In Total Viewers, "Endgame" was second for the night, with a 10 Share and 634,000 viewers, second only to "Law & Order"'s 12.7 Share and 805,000 viewers.

Demographically speaking, the results were even more impressive.  In Teens 12-17, Voyager was in first place with a 10.7 Share and 53,000 viewers, beating out the finale of the reality series "Boot Camp".

In the core Male 18-49 demographic, Voyager beat "Law & Order" handily, coming in first place with a 16.4 Share ("Law & Order", 13.6) and 261,000 viewers ("Law & Order", 217,000 viewers).

In the Female 18-49 demographic, Voyager came in second to "Law & Order" (15.3 Share, 246,000 viewers) with a 13 Share and 209,000 viewers.