Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, May 14, 1993                   TAG: 9305140250
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: 10   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE: NEW YORK                                LENGTH: Medium

FOX SIGNS CHEVY CHASE AS NEW LATE-NIGHT HOST

"The Chevy Chase Show," starring the film comedian and former "Saturday Night Live" regular, kicks off Sept. 7, the day after Labor Day, the network announced.

The talk and comedy program will air from 11 p.m. to midnight Monday through Friday. This gives Chase a half-hour jump on rivals David Letterman (coming to CBS in August) and Jay Leno on NBC, as well as ABC's news program "Nightline."

The show will originate from the former Aquarius Theater on Hollywood's Sunset Boulevard, renamed the Chevy Chase Theater.

Chase, who has made some two dozen films, first found fame as a Not Ready for Prime Time Player during the first season of NBC's "Saturday Night Live" in 1975-76. - Associated Press

`GMA' tops sweeps

NEW YORK - ABC's May sweeps trek to New Zealand and Australia brought "Good Morning America" its highest-ever road trip ratings and victory in the networks' weekly viewership race.

For the week ending May 7, "Good Morning America" had a 5.0 rating and a 22 audience share, according to Nielsen Media Research figures. One ratings point equals 931,000 TV homes; share is the percentage of sets tuned in.

NBC's "Today" show, which stayed home, was second with a 4.2 average rating and an 18 share.

"CBS This Morning," which sent weather reporter Mark McEwen on a tour of five U.S. entertainment centers, earned a 2.6 rating, 11 share, its lowest rating since September.

Ratings sweeps occur four times a year. Each is an intensive period of audience measurement in virtually all U.S. TV markets. Local stations use the data to set their local ad rates until the next sweeps period.