RATINGS NEWS & NOTES: RATINGS DOWN ON ALL BIG FOUR NETWORKS

          The Big Four TV networks closed their season "on a sour
     note" as none had ratings gains "for the first time in more
     than a decade," according to USA TODAY's Gary Levin, who
     wrote that fledgling nets WB and UPN "have nibbled" away at
     the major nets' audience, while cable's growth has also
     "drained viewers."  NBC led the Nielsens this year with a
     10.2/17 average (-3%); CBS averaged a 9.6/16 (-4%); ABC a
     8.4/14 (-4%); and Fox a 7.1/12 (-8%) (USA TODAY, 5/26).  
          RATINGS: For a full listing of weekend ratings, see
     (#30)....In Boston, WABU-TV drew the highest rating in its
     five-year history Friday night for the Yankees-Red Sox 
     series opener, earning a 13.1/23.  Sox games on WABU this
     year have averaged in the high 7s and low 8s (BOSTON GLOBE,
     5/27)....In the January-March ratings survey, N.Y.'s WFAN-AM
     averaged 2.2% of the total audience, down from 2.8% in the
     October-December period.  One-On-One Sports affil, WJWR-AM,
     which didn't "show up" in the survey, says it has "planted a
     foot on the turf of WFAN" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 5/27).