Geraldo's Grand Opening.(EVALUATION OF TELEVISION PROGRAMS)

By Ben Grossman

At Large leads rookies; Cristina's strong, too

The national rollout of Twentieth Television's Geraldo at Large was the top-performing syndicated rookie, according to the national household ratings for the week ended Sept. 17. Geraldo averaged a 1.6 rating for the first week of the season, despite clearances in just 75% of the country, mainly in late-fringe time periods.

"It's taken awhile to find an audience, but sampling tends to be a bit slower than you used to have in the old days," says Twentieth President/COO Bob Cook. He notes that the 1.6 projects to a 2.0 if the show had household penetration of 90%, which he expects …