TV RATINGS

It was a photo finish in the ratings during the second week of the fall television season, with NBC and CBS ending up in a dead heat.

Both networks had a 9.1 rating, Nielsen Media Research said Tuesday. CBS had a narrow edge in total viewers, but NBC easily won among the 18- to 49-year-old demographic closely watched by advertisers.

For the week, ABC had a 7.3 rating, Fox had a 5.1 rating. Fox has lost an average of 1.6-million viewers per week from last season, though some of its more popular shows haven't premiered yet. The WB had a 3.4 rating and UPN was at 2.4. Pax TV had a 0.7.

NBC Nightly News won the evening news ratings race with a 7.2 rating. ABC's World News Tonight was second with a 7.0, while the CBS Evening News had a 6.3 rating.

1. ER, NBC, 21.5

2. Frasier, NBC, 16.3

3. Friends, NBC, 15.8

4. Stark Raving Mad, NBC, 13.4

5. SF at Arizona, ABC, 13.3

6. Jesse, NBC, 12.9

6. Law and Order, NBC, 12.9

8. 60 Minutes, CBS, 12.5

9. Raymond, CBS, 12.2

10. JAG, CBS, 11.8

11. NFL Showcase, ABC, 11.7

12. Becker, CBS, 11.2

12. Judging Amy, CBS, 11.2

14. Family Law, CBS, 10.9

15. The Practice, ABC, 10.7

16. Dateline-Monday, NBC, 10.6

16. Touched By Angel, CBS, 10.6

18. 60 Minutes II, CBS, 10.3

19. Providence, NBC, 10.2

20. West Wing, NBC, 9.9

21. Once and Again, ABC, 9.8

21. Third Watch, NBC, 9.8

23. Drew Carey, ABC, 9.7

24. Special Victims Unit, NBC, 9.6

25. Dharma & Greg, ABC, 9.4

26. Will and Grace, NBC, 9.3

27. Breakdown, CBS, 9.2

28. 20/20-Wednesday, ABC, 9.0

28. Dharma & Greg, ABC, 9.0

28. Diagnosis Murder, CBS, 9.0

28. King of Queens, CBS, 9.0

28. Nash Bridges, CBS, 9.0

33. Ladies Man, CBS, 8.6

34. 20/20-Friday, ABC, 8.5

35. Forget Me Never, CBS, 8.4

_ Times wires