Don't ask them why "Seinfeld," which NBC executives simply hoped would find more viewers at 9:30 p.m. behind the long-running hit "Cheers," surpassed their wildest expectations by becoming the first half-hour show at 9:30 to improve on the "Cheers" audience since "Taxi" did so a decade ago. "Cheers" ranked No. 7 last week, behind "Seinfeld."There's no doubt that "Seinfeld" has come a long way in a short amount of time. Last fall, when NBC boldly scheduled "Seinfeld" opposite ABC's "Home Improvement" on Wednesday nights at 9, NBC hoped that each show would find its own audience. The strategy didn't work. Seinfeld's sophisticated humor was short-circuited by the mass appeal of Tim Allen and his power tools, and "Home Improvement" rose to become the No. 3 show on television.
In the meantime, he hopes that the "Cheers" countdown will continue to increase the visibility of "Seinfeld" and "Wings." If the final broadcast of "Cheers" on May 20 lives up to NBC's projections of a 35 rating-or 33 million viewing households-it will rank as one of the most-watched entertainment broadcasts in history. NBC is reportedly selling 30-second commercial spots on the one-hour program for $600,000.
