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List of most-watched television broadcasts

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. The programme, broadcast on one of China's three channels from 1981 to 1989, has been estimated to have attracted a nightly audience of 350 million people during the early 1980s.

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 8 primetime telecasts of all time

Rank	Show	Episode	Number of Viewers	Share	Date	Network
1	UEFA Euro 2008	Germany vs Spain	32.47 million		June 29, 2008	Das Erste
2	2006 FIFA World Cup	Germany vs Italy	29.66 million^{1, 2, 3}	84.10%	July 4, 2006	ZDF
3	UEFA Euro 2008	Germany vs Turkey	29.43 million¹	81.80%	June 25, 2008	ZDF
4	1990 FIFA World Cup	West Germany vs Argentina	28.66 million		July 9, 1990
5	UEFA Euro 1996	Germany vs Czech Republic	28.44 million	76.30%	June 30, 1996	ZDF
6	UEFA Euro 2008	Austria vs Germany	28.04 million¹		June 16, 2008	Das Erste
7	Die Schwarzwaldklinik	"Die Schuldfrage"	27.97 million		November 17, 1985	ZDF
8	2002 FIFA World Cup	Germany vs Brazil	27.09 million	88.00%	June 30, 2002	ZDF
Notes: Public viewing areas were not implied to these ratings. The approximated rating is about 60 to 70 million. The extra time reached even 31.31 million viewers.

The Scarf, a thriller series by Francis Durbridge, got up to 89 per cent market share in January 1962. The number of viewers was not measured at that time. The series is still considered the biggest so-called "Straßenfeger" (a television broadcast which is so popular as to leave the streets deserted) in German television history. One year later, the Tim Frazer series by Durbridge went for a market share between 80 and 93 per cent.

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

Important Note: None of these figures are verified official figures and are in fact under some dispute.

Most-watched episodes

(by total number of viewers)

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	25 December 1987	ITV
4	Only Fools and Horses	Time On Our Hands	25.35 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)

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	BBC TV/ITV

Most-watched films

(by total number of viewers; 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	The Ed Sullivan Show: Elvis Presley's first appearance	60 million	82.6%	September 9, 1956	CBS
2	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	MAS*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	43.1%	65%	February 3, 2008	FOX
2	Super Bowl XLI (Indianapolis Colts vs. Chicago Bears)	93.2 million	42.6%	64%	February 4, 2007	CBS
3	Super Bowl XL (Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Seattle Seahawks)	90.7 million	41.6%	62%	February 5, 2006	ABC
4	Super Bowl XXXVIII (New England Patriots vs. Carolina Panthers)	89.8 million	41.4%	63%	February 1, 2004	CBS
5	Super Bowl XXXIX (New England Patriots vs. Philadelphia Eagles)	86.1 million	41.1%	62%	February 6, 2005	FOX
6	Super Bowl XXXVII (Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Oakland Raiders)	88.6 million	40.7%	61%	January 26, 2003	ABC
7	Super Bowl XXXIV (St. Louis Rams vs. Tennessee Titans)	88.5 million	43.3%	63%	January 30, 2000	ABC
8	Super Bowl XXXVI (New England Patriots vs. St. Louis Rams)	86.8 million	40.4%	61%	February 3, 2002	FOX
9	Super Bowl XXXV (Baltimore Ravens vs. New York Giants)	84.3 million	40.4%	61%	January 28, 2001	CBS
10	2007 NFC Championship Game (Green Bay Packers vs. New York Giants)	53.9 million	29.0%	43%	January 20, 2008	FOX
11	Friends series finale: "The Last One"	52.5 million	29.8%	43%	May 6, 2004	NBC
12	Survivor season 1 finale: "The Final Four"	51.7 million	28.2%	44%	August 23, 2000	CBS
13	2006 AFC Championship Game (New England Patriots vs. Indianapolis Colts)	46.7 million	26.4%	39%	January 21, 2007	CBS
14	72nd Academy Awards	46.3 million	29.2%	48%	March 26, 2000	ABC
15	XIX Olympic Winter Games: Opening Ceremony	45.6 million	25.5%	42%	February 8, 2002	NBC
16	2004 AFC Championship Game (New England Patriots vs. Pittsburgh Steelers)	44.3 million	25.8%	38%	January 23, 2005	CBS
17	76th Academy Awards	43.5 million	26.0%	40%	February 29, 2004	ABC
18	XIX Olympic Winter Games: Ladies' figure skating - long program	43.3 million	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	MAS*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	32.0%	48%	May 1, 1988	CBS
6	The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson	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	26.6%	43%	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	?	?	March 31, 1975	CBS
14	The Fugitive	30.0	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	?	?	May 25, 1988	NBC
21	MacGyver	22.3	13.8%	26%	May 21, 1992	ABC
22	L.A. Law	22.1	15.9%	27%	May 19, 1994	NBC
23	ALF	21.7	13.1%	24%	March 24, 1990	NBC
24	Growing Pains	21.1	13.3%	24%	April 25, 1992	ABC
25	The Wonder Years	21.0	13.9%	23%	May 12, 1993	ABC
26	Quantum Leap	20.6	13.7%	23%	May 5, 1993	NBC
27	Who's the Boss?	20.5	12.7%	24%	April 25, 1992	ABC
28	The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air	19.9	13.1%	22%	May 20, 1996	NBC
29	Mad About You	19.8	13.6%	20%	May 24, 1999	NBC
30	Knots Landing	19.6	13.9%	22%	May 13, 1993	CBS
31	Bonanza	19.3	?	?	January 16, 1973	NBC
32	Will & Grace	18.4	11.7%	18%	May 18, 2006	NBC
33	The Facts of Life	18.2	13.2%	29%	May 7, 1988	NBC
34	Jake and the Fatman	18.1	12.9%	20%	May 6, 1992	CBS
35	Major Dad	17.9	12.6%	20%	April 16, 1993	CBS
36	Murphy Brown	17.5	12.3%	19%	May 18, 1998	CBS
37	Roseanne	16.6	11.6%	19%	May 20, 1997	ABC
38	NYPD Blue	16.1	10.4%	17%	March 1, 2005	ABC
39	Miami Vice	16.1	11.0%	21%	June 28, 1989	NBC
40	Married... with Children	15.2	10.0%	16%	May 5, 1997	FOX
41	Kate & Allie	14.9	11.9%	20%	May 22, 1989	CBS
42	Dynasty	14.7	10.8%	17%	May 11, 1989	ABC
43	Monday Night Football	14.4	9.2%	16%	December 26, 2005	ABC
44	Beverly Hills, 90210	14.4	9.6%	15%	May 17, 2000	FOX
45	JAG	14.0	9.0%	15%	April 29, 2005	CBS
46	The King of Queens	13.5	8.8%	13%	May 14, 2007	CBS
47	Providence	13.3	9.0%	16%	December 20, 2002	NBC
48	Life Goes On	13.2	8.9%	17%	May 23, 1993	ABC
49	The X-Files	13.2	7.9%	12%	May 19, 2002	FOX
50	Touched by an Angel	12.9	8.9%	15%	April 27, 2003	CBS
51	Falcon Crest	12.3	9.3%	15%	May 17, 1990	CBS
52	3rd Rock from the Sun	11.9	7.9%	13%	May 22, 2001	NBC
53	The Sopranos	11.9	?	?	June 10, 2007	HBO
54	Ally McBeal	11.5	7.5%	11%	May 20, 2002	FOX
55	The Nanny	11.1	8.1%	14%	May 12, 1999	CBS
56	The Practice	10.9	7.5%	13%	May 16, 2004	ABC
57	Walker, Texas Ranger	10.8	6.8%	13%	May 19, 2001	CBS
58	Judging Amy	10.8	7.6%	12%	May 3, 2005	CBS
59	Sex and the City	10.6	?	?	February 22, 2004	HBO
60	Melrose Place	10.4	7.3%	12%	May 24, 1999	FOX
61	Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman	10.2	6.7%	15%	May 16, 1998	CBS
62	The West Wing	10.1	6.2%	10%	May 14, 2006	NBC
63	That '70s Show	9.8	?	?	May 18, 2006	FOX
64	A Different World	9.3	6.6%	14%	May 8, 1993	NBC
64	Cosby	7.5	5.2%	10%	April 28, 2000	CBS

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:

1950-1979

Season	Show	Network
1950-1951	Texaco Star Theater	NBC
1951-1952	Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts	CBS
1952-1953	I Love Lucy	CBS
1953-1954
1954-1955
1955-1956	The $64,000 Question	CBS
1956-1957	I Love Lucy	CBS
1957-1958	Gunsmoke	CBS
1958-1959
1959-1960
1960-1961
1961-1962	Wagon Train	NBC
1962-1963	The Beverly Hillbillies	CBS
1963-1964	The Beverly Hillbillies	CBS
1964-1965	Bonanza	NBC
1965-1966
1966-1967
1967-1968	The Andy Griffith Show	CBS
1968-1969	Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In	NBC
1969-1970	Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In	NBC
1970-1971	Marcus Welby, M.D.	ABC
1971-1972	All in the Family	CBS
1972-1973
1973-1974
1974-1975
1975-1976
1976-1977	Happy Days	ABC
1977-1978	Laverne and Shirley	ABC
1978-1979	Three's Company	ABC
1979-1980	60 Minutes	CBS

1980-present

Season	Show	Network
1980-1981	Dallas	CBS
1981-1982	Dallas	CBS
1982-1983	60 Minutes	CBS
1983-1984	Dallas	CBS
1984-1985	Dynasty	ABC
1985-1986	The Cosby Show	NBC
1986-1987
1987-1988
1988-1989
1989-1990	(tie) The Cosby Show	NBC
1989-1990	(tie) Roseanne	ABC
1990-1991	Cheers	NBC
1991-1992	60 Minutes	CBS
1992-1993	60 Minutes	CBS
1993-1994	Home Improvement	ABC
1994-1995	Seinfeld	NBC
1995-1996	ER	NBC
1996-1997	ER	NBC
1997-1998	Seinfeld	NBC
1998-1999	ER	NBC
1999-2000	Who Wants to Be a Millionaire	ABC
2000-2001	Survivor	CBS
2001-2002	Friends	NBC
2002-2003	CSI	CBS
2003-2004	CSI	CBS
2004-2005	American Idol	FOX
2005-2006
2006-2007
2007-2008

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 .

Such statistics have, however, proved controversial, failing to stand up to scrutiny , and audience figures cited in billions are practically 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.

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