Joy in Metville

Ratings were encouraging for the Mets first game on Ch.11, Friday-night’s victory over Montreal.

Friday’s game notched a 4.3 rating (293,000 households) – 10 percent ahead of last year’s average on WWOR/Ch.9.

The game’s final quarter-hour scored a 7.9 (538,000 households) – the day’s top-rated quarter-hour of baseball.

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It May happen

Insiders say ABC is targeting May 3 as the day it will announce the new co-host for “The View” (11 a.m. on Ch.7).

ABC has been trotting out on-air candidates since mid-January, with some women returning for two or three encores with co-hosts Joy Behar, Meredith Vieira, Star Jones and Barbara Walters.

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NBC changes

As part of its daytime restructuring, NBC yesterday announced it will begin airing the CNBC-produced “Early Today” at 4:30 a.m. beginning in September.

NBC also said the “Later Today” will air 9-10 a.m. beginning in September, replacing “Leeza,” which is going into syndication.

Meanwhile, NBC canned “NBC News at Sunrise,” which debuted in 1983.

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Express Lines:

*Fox has ordered additional episodes of “Fox Files” to air through the summer …

*Kenneth Starr visits CNN’s “Larry King Live” tomorrow (9 p.m.) to take viewer phone calls …

*WCBS/Ch.2’s Steve Friedman reports that his station’s 5 p.m. newcast won three out of five days last week …

*Yankee hurler Roger Clemens visits today’s “Live with Regis & Kathie Lee” (9 a.m. on Ch.7) …

*”Saturday Night Live” funnymen Jim Breuer, Darrell Hammond and Colin Quinn will perform at Caroline’s tonight (7:15 p.m.) to benefit the New York City Chapter of The Buoniconti Fund/The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis …

*”Charles Grodin” producer John Gabriel is filming an episode of NBC’s “Law & Order” and has released a new CD, “From John With Love.”-