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List of most-watched television episodes
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The following is a list of most watched television episodes, organized by country and based on various criteria.
Contents |
(by total number of viewers, [1]; source: British Film Institute)
| Rank | Show | Episode | Number of viewers |
Date | Network |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | EastEnders | Den divorces Angie | 30.15 million | December 25, 1986 | BBC1 |
| 2 | Coronation Street | Alan Bradley killed by tram | 26.93 million | December 8, 1989 | ITV |
| 3 | Coronation Street | Hilda Ogden leaves | 26.00+ million[1] | December 25, 1987 | ITV |
| 4 | Only Fools and Horses | Time On Our Hands | 24.35 million | December 29, 1996 | BBC1 |
| 5 | EastEnders | Pat Butcher runs down little girl | 24.30 million | January 2, 1992 | BBC1 |
| 6 | Royal Variety Performance | Shirley Bassey, Peter Cook & Dudley Moore | 24.20 million | November 14, 1965 | ITV |
| 7 | To the Manor Born | Series 1 Finale | 23.95 million | November 11, 1979 | BBC1 |
| 8 | Dallas | "Who Done It?" aka "Who Shot J.R.?" | 21.60 million | November 21, 1980 | BBC1 |
(by total number of viewers, [2])
| Rank | Event | Number of viewers | Date | Network |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1966 World Cup Final | 32.30 million | July 30, 1966 | BBC/ITV |
| 2 | Funeral of Princess Diana | 32.10 million | September 6, 1997 | BBC1/ITV |
| 3 | British Royal Family documentary | 30.69 million | 1969 | BBC1/ITV |
| 4 | Apollo 13 splashdown | 28.60 million | April 17, 1970 | BBC1/ITV |
| 5 | FA Cup replay: Chelsea vs. Leeds | 28.49 million | April 11, 1970 | BBC1/ITV |
| 6 | Royal Wedding of Charles & Diana | 28.40 million | July 29, 1981 | BBC1/ITV |
| 7 | Wedding of Princess Anne and Mark Phillips | 27.60 million | November 14, 1973 | BBC1 |
| 8 | JFK assassination news | 24.15 million | November 22, 1963 | BBC1/ITV |
(by total number of viewers, [3]; dates are when the movies aired, not necessarily when they were produced.)
| Rank | Movie | Number of viewers | Date | Network |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Live and Let Die | 23.50 million | January 20, 1980 | ITV |
| 2 | Jaws | 23.25 million | October 8, 1981 | ITV |
| 3 | The Spy Who Loved Me | 22.90 million | March 28, 1982 | ITV |
| 4 | Diamonds Are Forever | 22.15 million | March 15, 1981 | ITV |
| 5 | Crocodile Dundee | 21.75 million | December 25, 1989 | BBC1 |
Sources: BBC, Reuters, Nielsen Media Research
Some sources, such as PBS [4] and the official website of the Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization [5], describe the heavily-promoted made-for-television production of Cinderella, broadcast once on CBS in 1957, as the most-watched television show. According to those sources, it garnered 107 million viewers, more than the M*A*S*H finale cited in most lists. Based on Census Bureau mid-year population estimates [6], Cinderella would have had to attract an audience representing 62.2% of the U.S. population (171.9 million), compared with the 45.3% that M*A*S*H attracted (of 233.8 million).
(from January 1964 to June 2006; 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.
(from January 1, 2000 to the present; share is the percentage of television sets in use tuned to a specific program; source: Nielsen Media Research and TV Basics)
(by total viewers; source: Reuters)
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.
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 (was bought out by Nielsen in February of 1950) and Variety.
These are the programs that finished with the highest average Nielsen rating in each television season:
There are no exact figures available for global television events, but it stands to reason that live shows that are broadcast in many countries at once, for example the Eurovision Song Contest or the FIFA World Cup, would be among the most watched. Many believe Elvis Presley's Aloha from Hawaii was the most watched program of all time, recording 90% of households in some countries.[citation needed]
- ^ Hilda and Stan UK's most romantic. Daily Mail (February 8, 2002). Retrieved on November 8, 2006.
- ^ XCIII Million Watch Super Bowl XLI. Zap2it (February 5, 2007). Retrieved on February 5, 2007.
- ^ Azote, Abigail (February 8, 2006). From 'Supernatural,' a boost from Bush. Media Life Magazine. Retrieved on November 8, 2006.
- ^ a b c d e VNU Media and Marketing Guide for Super Bowl. Nielsen Media Research (February 2, 2005). Retrieved on November 8, 2006.
- ^ Super Bowl Earns Super Ratings. Associated Press (February 6, 2006). Retrieved on November 8, 2006.
- ^ Vasquez, Diego (May 12, 2004). Gadzooks! A not so perky 'Survivor.'. Media Life Magazine. Retrieved on November 11, 2006.
- ^ Armstrong, Mark (August 24, 2000). "Survivor" Richard: Bigger than Oscar. E! Online. Retrieved on November 8, 2006.
- ^ a b Bowles, Scott (January 26, 2005). Oscars lack blockbuster to lure TV viewers. USA Today. Retrieved on November 8, 2006.
- ^ Fitzgerald, Toni (January 31, 2005). Terrell Owens, Fox is rooting for you. Media Life Magazine. Retrieved on November 11, 2006.
- ^ Byrne, Bridget (February 26, 2002). Olympics Runs Rings Around Ratings. E! Online. Retrieved on November 8, 2006.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Die erfolgreichsten Serien-Finale (May 23, 2005). Retrieved on October 23, 2006.
- ^ Television Top 100: The 1960s. Entertainment Weekly (May 23, 2005). Retrieved on November 8, 2006.
- ^ Berman, Marc (January 5, 2006). The Programming Insider. Mediaweek. Retrieved on October 23, 2006.
- ^ Berman, Marc (May 4, 2005). The Programming Insider. Mediaweek. Retrieved on October 23, 2006.
- ^ Berman, Marc (April 30, 2003). The Programming Insider. Mediaweek. Retrieved on October 23, 2006.
- ^ Berman, Marc (February 25, 2004). The Programming Insider. Mediaweek. Retrieved on October 23, 2006.