ABC only got a silver in the ratings the first week of Winter Olympics coverage, but ABC's ``World News Tonight'' was golden for the first time since August, snapping CBS' 20-week win streak. The first two nights of the Olympics, Saturday and Sunday, varied widely in the A.C. Nielsen Co. ratings, but according to ABC averaged higher than the first two nights of the 1984 games. An estimated 25 million viewers saw Sunday night's coverage, featuring pairs figure skating, putting it in the top 10 with a 19.7 rating and a 30 share. But Saturday's coverage of hockey was in the bottom 10 with a 9.9 rating and 17 share. The rating is a percentage of the 88.6 million households with televisions. The share is a percentage of sets in use that are tuned to that program. The first two nights of the 1984 games were a Tuesday and a Wednesday, and had a combined rating of 13.8 compared to 15.5 for this year, said ABC. ABC's highest rated show of the week wasn't the Olympics, but the conclusion of the two-part miniseries ``Elvis and Me,'' the highest-rated miniseries so far this season. But NBC handily won the week ending Feb. 14, with an average prime-time rating of 16.2. ABC was second with 14.9. CBS was third with 14.2. After winning 19 of the 21 weeks so far in the season, NBC has an average rating of 16.4, and CBS and ABC are tied with 13.6. The 10 top-rated shows of the week were: ``The Cosby Show'' NBC, ``A Different World'' NBC, ``Elvis and Me, Part 2'' ABC, ``Cheers'' NBC, ``Golden Girls'' NBC, ``Growing Pains'' ABC, ``Night Court'' NBC, ``Who's the Boss?'' ABC, ``L.A. Law'' NBC and the Winter Olympics Sunday coverage on ABC. NBC's new ``Sonny Spoon,'' starring Mario Van Peebles as a chameleon private eye, premiered last Friday with so-so numbers, ranking 49th. The lowest rated shows of the week were: ``Our House,'' Winter Olympics Saturday coverage, ``West 57th,'' ``The Law and Harry McGraw,'' ``Decision '88 _ The Iowa Caucus,'' ``Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan,'' ``The Thorns,'' ``48 Hours in Israel,'' ``Sledge Hammer!'' and ``The Charmings.'' For the week ending Feb. 12, ABC's ``World News Tonight'' had an average rating of 11.8 and a 20 share. The ``CBS Evening News'' had an 11.1 and 19. ``NBC Nightly News'' had a 10.9 and 19. Network analysts had no immediate explanation for ABC's showing. However, last week's ratings could have been affected by coverage of the Iowa caucuses, the first results from the 1988 presidential race. ``We tend to do well with major stories, be it Challenger or coverage of Chernobyl, and with live programming like the Iran hearings and political coverage,'' said ABC News spokeswoman Elise Adde. ABC's prime-time special on Iowa ranked a respectable 44 out of 68. It followed the conclusion of ``Elvis and Me.'' NBC's Iowa coverage ranked 63rd. CBS delayed its coverage of Iowa until 11:30 p.m. EST, after prime time. The last time ABC was first in news ratings was the week of Aug. 10, 1987.
