List of most-watched television broadcasts

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Willydavid (talk | contribs) at 06:14, 2 June 2008 (Added Walker.). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Jump to navigation Jump to search

The following is a list of most-watched television broadcasts, organized by country and based on various criteria.

China

Follow Me! a BBC beginner's English programme broadcast in China as part of the re-establishment of an educational system after the end of the Cultural Revolution.[1][2] The programme, broadcast on one of China's three channels from 1981 to 1989,[1] has been estimated to have attracted a nightly audience of 500 million people during the early 1980s.[2]

Denmark

The TV series Matador originally aired on DR between November 1978 and January 1982, but has enjoyed repeated successful reruns in 1984-85, 1989-90, 1997-98 and 2006-07. The 1985 airing of the series finale still stands as the most viewed ever in Danish TV history, with appr. 3.6 million viewers on May 26th that year, this in a country of some 5.1 million people.

Germany

Most-watched U.S. television series episodes

Rank Show Episode Number of Viewers Date Network
1 Columbo "How to Dial a Murder" 8.00 million September 21, 1992 RTL
2 Earth 2 "First Contact" 7.42 million October 29, 1995 RTL
3 seaQuest DSV "To Be or Not to Be" 6.99 million January 19, 1994 RTL
4 Ring of the Musketeers Part 1 6.93 million December 1, 1992 RTL
5 Lonesome Dove Episode 2 6.86 million January 11, 1992 Das Erste
6 Quincy, M.E. 6.73 million November 16, 1993 RTL

Top 3 primetime telecasts of all time

Rank Show Episode Number of Viewers Date Network
1 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany vs Italy 29.66 million1 July 4, 2006 ZDF
2 1990 FIFA World Cup Germany vs Argentina 28.66 million July 9, 1990 Das Erste
3 Die Schwarzwaldklinik "Die Schuldfrage" 27.97 million November 17, 1985 ZDF
Notes:
  1. Public viewing areas were not implied to this rating. The approximated rating is about 60 to 70 million.[3]

Most-watched ProSieben telecasts of all time

Rank Film Number of Viewers Market Share Date
1 Manitou's Shoe: Extra Large 12.21 million 32.0% March 7, 2004
2 Jurassic Park 9.87 million 26,8% January 12, 1997
3 Mission: Impossible 8.68 million 25,3% April 18, 1999
4 Independence Day – Special Edition 8.58 million 28,6% April 4, 1999
5 Forrest Gump 8.39 million 27,5% November 1, 1997
6 Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl 8.10 million 24,8% October 15, 2006
7 Independence Day 8.07 million 24,6% January 13, 2002
8 Mrs. Doubtfire 7.88 million 26,9% September 28, 1996
9 McFit Fight Night 7.74 million 34,9% March 30, 2007
10 Speed 7.60 million 26,1% September 27, 1997
11 The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! 7.59 million 21,3% November 14, 1993
12 Men in Black 7.40 million 20,3% February 3, 2002

United Kingdom

Most-watched episodes

(by total number of viewers[4])

Rank Show Episode Number of Viewers Date Network
1 EastEnders Den divorces Angie 30.15 million 25 December 1986 BBC1
2 Coronation Street Alan Bradley killed by tram 26.93 million 8 December 1989 ITV
3 Coronation Street Hilda Ogden leaves 26.00+ million[5] 25 December 1987 ITV
4 Only Fools and Horses Time On Our Hands 24.35 million 29 December 1996 BBC1
5 EastEnders Pat Butcher runs down little girl 24.30 million 2 January 1992 BBC1
6 Royal Variety Performance Shirley Bassey, Peter Cook & Dudley Moore 24.20 million 14 November 1965 ITV
7 To the Manor Born Series 1 Finale 23.95 million 11 November 1979 BBC1

One-off events

(by total number of viewers[4])

Apollo 13 splashdown.
Rank Event Number of Viewers Date Network
1 1966 FIFA World Cup Final 32.30 million 30 July 1966 BBC/ITV
2 Funeral of Princess Diana 32.10 million 6 September 1997 BBC1/ITV
3 British Royal Family documentary 30.69 million 1969 BBC1/ITV
4 Apollo 13 splashdown 28.60 million 17 April 1970 BBC1/ITV
5 FA Cup replay: Chelsea vs. Leeds 28.49 million 29 April 1970 BBC1/ITV
6 Royal Wedding of Charles & Diana 28.40 million 29 July 1981 BBC1/ITV
7 Wedding of Princess Anne and Mark Phillips 27.60 million 14 November 1973 BBC1
8 JFK assassination news 24.15 million 22 November 1963 BBC1/ITV

Most-watched films

(by total number of viewers[6]; dates are when the films were broadcast, not necessarily when they were produced.)

Rank Film Number of Viewers Date Network
1 Live and Let Die 23.50 million 20 January 1980 ITV
2 Jaws 23.25 million 8 October 1981 ITV
3 The Spy Who Loved Me 22.90 million 28 March 1982 ITV
4 Diamonds Are Forever 22.15 million 15 March 1981 ITV
5 Crocodile Dundee 21.75 million 25 December 1989 BBC1

United States

Sources: BBC, Reuters, Nielsen Media Research

Highest rated network telecasts

Elvis Presley's first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show and the "Lucy Goes to the Hospital" episode of I Love Lucy hold the record as the highest rated telecasts of all time.

Rank Show or Episode Number of Viewers Percent of Households Date Network
1 Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella 107 million[7] March 31, 1957 CBS
2 The Ed Sullivan Show: Elvis Presley's first appearance 60 million 82.6% September 9, 1956 CBS
3 I Love Lucy episode: "Lucy Goes to the Hospital" 44 million 71.7% January 19, 1953 CBS

Top 45 network primetime telecasts of all time (1964-Present)

(from January 1964 to February 2008; ranked by rating, or "Percentage of Households." Households could include many viewers; share is the percentage of television sets in use tuned to a specific program; source: Nielsen Media Research and Variety)

Few post-1990 telecasts are listed. With the ubiquity of cable and satellite television, typical American households have a far greater choice of programming: dozens of specialty and broadcast channels, as opposed to the handful of broadcast channels during the era represented by most programs on this list. More recently, the Internet has also drawn viewers away from television. Future programs with viewership levels (in terms of percentage of TV households) that rank high on this list are probably unlikely to exist in the foreseeable future except for a Super Bowl.

Rank Show or Episode Number of Households Percent of Households Share Date Network
1 M*A*S*H series finale: "Goodbye, Farewell and Amen" 50.15 million 60.2% 77% February 28, 1983 CBS
2 Dallas episode: "Who Done It?" aka "Who Shot J.R.?" 41.47 million 53.3% 76% November 21, 1980 CBS
3 Roots Part VIII (finale) 36.38 million 51.1% 71% January 30, 1977 ABC
4 Super Bowl XVI (San Francisco 49ers vs. Cincinnati Bengals) 40.02 million 49.1% 73% January 24, 1982 CBS
5 Super Bowl XVII (Washington Redskins vs. Miami Dolphins) 40.48 million 48.6% 69% January 30, 1983 NBC
6 XVII Winter Olympics: Ladies' figure skating - short program
featuring Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding		 45.69 million 48.5% 64% February 23, 1994 CBS
7 Super Bowl XX (Chicago Bears vs. New England Patriots) 41.49 million 48.3% 70% January 26, 1986 NBC
8 Gone with the Wind telecast (part 1) 33.96 million 47.7% 65% November 7, 1976 NBC
9 Gone with the Wind telecast (part 2) 33.75 million 47.4% 64% November 8, 1976 NBC
10 Super Bowl XII (Dallas Cowboys vs. Denver Broncos) 34.41 million 47.2% 67% January 15, 1978 CBS
11 Super Bowl XIII (Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Dallas Cowboys) 35.09 million 47.1% 74% January 21, 1979 NBC
12 Bob Hope Christmas Special 27.26 million 46.6% 64% January 15, 1970 NBC
13 Super Bowl XVIII (L.A. Raiders vs. Washington Redskins) 38.88 million 46.4% 71% January 22, 1984 CBS
14 Super Bowl XIX (San Francisco 49ers vs. Miami Dolphins) 39.39 million 46.4% 63% January 20, 1985 ABC
15 Super Bowl XIV (Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Los Angeles Rams) 35.33 million 46.3% 67% January 20, 1980 CBS
16 Super Bowl XXX (Dallas Cowboys vs. Pittsburgh Steelers) 44.15 million 46.0% 68% January 28, 1996 NBC
17 Film: The Day After 38.55 million 46.0% 62% November 20, 1983 ABC
18 Roots Part VI 32.68 million 45.9% 66% January 28, 1977 ABC
18 The Fugitive series finale: "The Judgement: Part 2" 25.70 million 45.9% 72% August 29, 1967 ABC
20 Super Bowl XXI (New York Giants vs. Denver Broncos) 40.03 million 45.8% 66% January 25, 1987 CBS
21 Roots Part V 32.54 million 45.7% 71% January 27, 1977 ABC
22 Super Bowl XXVIII (Dallas Cowboys vs. Buffalo Bills) 42.86 million 45.5% 66% January 30, 1994 NBC
22 Cheers series finale: "One For The Road" 42.36 million 45.5% 64% May 20, 1993 NBC
24 The Ed Sullivan Show: Beatles' first appearance 23.24 million 45.3% 60% February 9, 1964 CBS
25 Super Bowl XXVII (Dallas Cowboys vs. Buffalo Bills) 41.99 million 45.1% 66% January 31, 1993 NBC
26 Bob Hope Christmas Show 27.05 million 45.0% 61% January 14, 1971 NBC
27 Roots Part III 31.90 million 44.8% 68% January 25, 1977 ABC
28 Super Bowl XXXII (Denver Broncos vs. Green Bay Packers) 43.63 million 44.5% 67% January 25, 1998 NBC
29 Super Bowl XI (Oakland Raiders vs. Minnesota Vikings) 31.61 million 44.4% 73% January 9, 1977 NBC
30 Super Bowl XV (Oakland Raiders vs. Philadelphia Eagles) 34.54 million 44.4% 63% January 25, 1981 NBC
31 Super Bowl VI (Dallas Cowboys vs. Miami Dolphins) 27.45 million 44.2% 74% January 16, 1972 CBS
32 XVII Winter Olympics: Ladies' figure skating - long program
featuring Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding		 41.54 million 44.1% 62% February 25, 1994 CBS
33 Roots Part II 31.40 million 44.1% 62% January 24, 1977 ABC
34 Beverly Hillbillies: "The Giant Jackrabbit" 22.57 million 44.0% 65% January 8, 1964 CBS
35 Roots Part IV 31.19 million 43.8% 66% January 26, 1977 ABC
35 The Ed Sullivan Show: Beatles' second appearance 22.445 million 43.8% 60% February 16, 1964 CBS
37 Super Bowl XXIII (Cincinnati Bengals vs. San Francisco 49ers) 39.32 million 43.5% 68% January 22, 1989 NBC
38 42nd Academy Awards 25.39 million 43.4% 78% April 7, 1970 ABC
39 Super Bowl XXXIV (St. Louis Rams vs. Tennessee Titans) 43.62 million 43.3% 63% January 30, 2000 ABC
39 Super Bowl XXXI (New England Patriots vs. Green Bay Packers) 42.00 million 43.3% 65% January 26, 1997 FOX
41 The Thorn Birds Part III 35.99 million 43.2% 62% March 29, 1983 ABC
42 Super Bowl XLII (New York Giants vs. New England Patriots) 48.66 million 43.1% 65% February 3, 2008 FOX
42 The Thorn Birds Part IV 35.90 million 43.1% 62% March 30, 1983 ABC
44 1981 NFC Championship Game
(Dallas Cowboys at San Francisco 49ers)		 34.96 million 42.9% 62% January 10, 1982 CBS
45 Beverly Hillbillies: "The Girl from Home" 21.96 million 42.8% 62% January 15, 1964 CBS

Top network primetime telecasts since 2000

(from January 1, 2000 to the present, by viewers; share is the percentage of television sets in use tuned to a specific program; source: Nielsen Media Research and TV Basics)

Rank Show or Episode Number of Viewers Percent of Households Share Date Network
1 Super Bowl XLII
(New York Giants vs. New England Patriots)		 97.5 million[8] 43.1% 65% February 3, 2008 FOX
2 Super Bowl XLI
(Indianapolis Colts vs. Chicago Bears)		 93.2 million[9] 42.6% 64% February 4, 2007 CBS
3 Super Bowl XL
(Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Seattle Seahawks)		 90.7 million[10] 41.6% 62% February 5, 2006 ABC
4 Super Bowl XXXVIII
(New England Patriots vs. Carolina Panthers)		 89.8 million[11] 41.4% 63% February 1, 2004 CBS
5 Super Bowl XXXIX
(New England Patriots vs. Philadelphia Eagles)		 86.1 million[12] 41.1% 62% February 6, 2005 FOX
6 Super Bowl XXXVII
(Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Oakland Raiders)		 88.6 million[11] 40.7% 61% January 26, 2003 ABC
7 Super Bowl XXXIV
(St. Louis Rams vs. Tennessee Titans)		 88.5 million[11] 43.3% 63% January 30, 2000 ABC
8 Super Bowl XXXVI
(New England Patriots vs. St. Louis Rams)		 86.8 million[11] 40.4% 61% February 3, 2002 FOX
9 Super Bowl XXXV
(Baltimore Ravens vs. New York Giants)		 84.3 million[11] 40.4% 61% January 28, 2001 CBS
10 2007 NFC Championship Game
(Green Bay Packers vs. New York Giants)		 53.9 million[13] 29.0% 43% January 20, 2008 FOX
11 Friends series finale: "The Last One" 52.5 million[14] 29.8% 43% May 6, 2004 NBC
12 Survivor season 1 finale: "The Final Four" 51.7 million[15] 28.2% 44% August 23, 2000 CBS
13 2006 AFC Championship Game
(New England Patriots vs. Indianapolis Colts)		 46.7 million[16] 26.4% 39% January 21, 2007 CBS
14 72nd Academy Awards 46.3 million[17] 29.2% 48% March 26, 2000 ABC
15 2004 AFC Championship Game
(New England Patriots vs. Pittsburgh Steelers)		 44.3 million[18] 25.8% 38% January 23, 2005 CBS
16 76th Academy Awards 43.5 million[17] 26.0% 40% February 29, 2004 ABC
17 XIX Olympic Winter Games:
Ladies' figure skating - long program		 43.3 million[19] 26.8% 41% February 21, 2002 NBC

Most-watched series finales

(sources: Reuters, ratings data from USA Today weekly ratings charts)

Rank Series Number of Viewers
(in millions)		 Percent of Households Share Date Network
1 M*A*S*H 105.9 60.2% 77% February 28, 1983 CBS
2 Cheers 80.4 45.5% 64% May 20, 1993 NBC
3 Seinfeld 76.3 41.3% 58% May 14, 1998 NBC
4 Friends 52.5 29.8% 43% May 6, 2004 NBC
5 Magnum, P.I. 50.7[20] 32.0% 48% May 1, 1988 CBS
6 The Tonight Show 50.0 ? ? May 22, 1992 NBC
7 The Cosby Show 44.4 28.0% 45% April 30, 1992 NBC
8 All in the Family 40.2[20] ? ? April 8, 1979 CBS
9 Family Ties 36.3 20.8% 35% May 14, 1989 NBC
10 Home Improvement 35.5 21.6% 34% May 25, 1999 ABC
11 Dallas 33.3 22.0% 38% May 3, 1991 CBS
12 Everybody Loves Raymond 32.9 20.2% 29% May 16, 2005 CBS
13 Gunsmoke 30.9[20] ? ? March 31, 1975 CBS
14 The Fugitive 30.0[21] 45.9% 72% August 29, 1967 ABC
15 Newhart 29.5 18.7% 29% May 21, 1990 CBS
16 The Golden Girls 27.2 18.9% 38% May 7, 1992 NBC
17 Frasier 25.2 16.3% 25% May 13, 2004 NBC
18 Night Court 24.6 16.5% 26% May 13, 1992 NBC
19 Full House 24.3 14.6% 25% May 23, 1995 ABC
20 St. Elsewhere 22.5[20] ? ? May 25, 1988 NBC
21 MacGyver 22.3 13.8% 26% May 21, 1992 ABC
22 ALF 21.7 13.1% 24% March 24, 1990 NBC
23 Growing Pains 21.1 13.3% 24% April 25, 1992 ABC
24 The Wonder Years 21.0 13.9% 23% May 12, 1993 ABC
25 Who's The Boss 20.5 12.7% 24% April 25, 1992 ABC
26 The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air 19.9 13.1% 22% May 20, 1996 NBC
27 Mad About You 19.8 13.6% 20% May 24, 1999 NBC
28 Knots Landing 19.6 13.9% 22% May 13, 1993 CBS
29 Bonanza 19.3[20] ? ? January 16, 1973 NBC
30 Will & Grace 18.4 11.7% 18% May 18, 2006 NBC
31 Murphy Brown 17.5 12.3% 19% May 18, 1998 CBS
32 Roseanne 16.6 11.6% 19% May 20, 1997 ABC
33 Hill Street Blues 16.3[20] ? ? May 12, 1987 NBC
34 NYPD Blue 16.1 10.4% 17% March 1, 2005 ABC
35 Married With Children 15.2 10.0% 16% May 5, 1997 FOX
36 Monday Night Football 14.4[22] 9.2% 16% December 26, 2005 ABC
37 JAG 14.0[23] 9.0% 15% April 29, 2005 CBS
38 King of Queens 13.5[24] 8.8% 13% May 14, 2007 CBS
39 The X-Files 13.2[25] 7.9% 12% May 19, 2002 FOX
40 Touched by an Angel 12.9[26] 8.9% 15% April 27, 2003 CBS
41 3rd Rock from the Sun 11.9 7.9% 13% May 22, 2001 NBC
41 The Sopranos 11.9 ? ? June 10, 2007 HBO
43 The Nanny 11.1 8.1% 14% May 12, 1999 CBS
44 The Practice 10.9 7.5% 13% May 16, 2004 ABC
45 Walker, Texas Ranger 10.8 6.8% 13% May 19, 2001 CBS
46 Sex and the City 10.6[27] ? ? February 22, 2004 HBO
47 The West Wing 10.1 6.2% 10% May 14, 2006 NBC
48 That '70s Show 9.8[28] ? ? May 18, 2006 FOX

The most-watched finale is not necessarily a show's most-watched episode. Friends, for example, had 52.9 million viewers for a 1996 episode that followed Super Bowl XXX.

Annual top-rated U.S. TV series

Nielsen began compiling ratings for television beginning in 1950. Prior to that year, television ratings were compiled by a number of other sources, including C. E. Hooper (which was bought out by Nielsen in February 1950) and Variety.

These are the programs that finished with the highest average Nielsen rating in each television season:

World

There are no exact figures available for global television events. However, a report by IPG media agency Initiative Worldwide stated that the 2006 FIFA World Cup was the most-watched sporting event of that year with an average 1.2 billion viewers per match [29].

Such statistics have, however, proved controversial, failing to stand up to scrutiny [30], and it ought to be recognised that any audience figures cited in billions are to say the least unverifiable.

It is popularly believed that the British TV show Top Gear is one of the most watched shows around the world. It is broadcast in 117 countries and is purportedly watched by up to one billion people.[31]

The funeral of Princess Diana was watched by an estimated 2.5 billion people.[32]

References

  1. ^ a b China's television revolution, from the website of the BBC programme From Our Own Correspondent
  2. ^ a b Teacher Flower, from the website of the BBC World Service
  3. ^ Quotenmeter.de article on FIFA World Cup game (German)
  4. ^ a b British Film Institute, via The Daily Mail
  5. ^ "Hilda and Stan UK's most romantic". Daily Mail. February 8, 2002. Retrieved 2006-11-08.
  6. ^ http://www.corrie.net/chat/ratucs/press/top100.html
  7. ^ Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella from the PBS website
  8. ^ Bauder, David (February 4, 2008). "Thrilling Giants-Patriots game makes Super Bowl the second most-watched TV show ever". Associated Press. Retrieved 2008-02-04.
  9. ^ "XCIII Million Watch Super Bowl XLI". Zap2it. February 5, 2007. Retrieved 2007-02-05.
  10. ^ Azote, Abigail (November 6, 2006). "From 'Supernatural,' a boost from Bush". Media Life Magazine. Retrieved 2006-11-08.
  11. ^ a b c d e "VNU Media and Marketing Guide for Super Bowl". Nielsen Media Research. February 2, 2005. Retrieved 2006-11-08.
  12. ^ "Super Bowl Earns Super Ratings". Associated Press. February 6, 2006. Retrieved 2006-11-08.
  13. ^ Fitzgerald, Tony (January 23, 2008). "Stunner: NFC game attracts 54 million". Media Life Magazine. Retrieved 2008-01-24. {{cite web}}: line feed character in |title= at position 13 (help)
  14. ^ Vasquez, Diego (May 12, 2004). "Gadzooks! A not so perky 'Survivor.'". Media Life Magazine. Retrieved 2006-11-11.
  15. ^ Armstrong, Mark (August 24, 2000). ""Survivor" Richard: Bigger than Oscar". E! Online. Retrieved 2006-11-08.
  16. ^ Berman, Marc (January 24, 2007). "The Programming Insider". Mediaweek. Retrieved 2008-02-09.
  17. ^ a b Bowles, Scott (January 26, 2005). "Oscars lack blockbuster to lure TV viewers". USA Today. Retrieved 2006-11-08.
  18. ^ Fitzgerald, Toni (January 31, 2005). "Terrell Owens, Fox is rooting for you". Media Life Magazine. Retrieved 2006-11-11.
  19. ^ Byrne, Bridget (February 26, 2002). "Olympics Runs Rings Around Ratings". E! Online. Retrieved 2006-11-08.
  20. ^ a b c d e f "Die erfolgreichsten Serien-Finale" (in German). May 23, 2005. Retrieved 2006-10-23. Cite error: The named reference "finale_de" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  21. ^ "Television Top 100: The 1960s". Entertainment Weekly. May 23, 2005. Retrieved 2006-11-08.
  22. ^ Berman, Marc (January 5, 2006). "The Programming Insider". Mediaweek. Retrieved 2006-10-23.
  23. ^ Berman, Marc (May 4, 2005). "The Programming Insider". Mediaweek. Retrieved 2006-10-23.
  24. ^ "IMDb". May 15, 2007.
  25. ^ "X-Files Nielsen ratings". May 19, 2002.
  26. ^ Berman, Marc (April 30, 2003). "The Programming Insider". Mediaweek. Retrieved 2006-10-23.
  27. ^ Berman, Marc (February 25, 2004). "The Programming Insider". Mediaweek. Retrieved 2006-10-23.
  28. ^ Berman, Marc (May 10, 2006). "The Programming Insider". Mediaweek. Retrieved 2006-10-23.
  29. ^ Bloomberg.com: International
  30. ^ The Independent: Why Fifa's claim of one billion TV viewers was a quarter right
  31. ^ Top Gear around the world - Auto Trader UK - News and Reviews Hub
  32. ^ BBC ON THIS DAY | 6 | 1997: Diana's funeral watched by millions
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_most-watched_television_broadcasts&oldid=216566552"