Table : TABLE 6.1 THE TOP 10 HIGHEST-RATED TV SERIES; INDIVIDUAL PROGRAMS (SINCE 1960)Note: The Seinfeld finale, which aired in May 1998, drew a rating of 41-plus and a total viewership of 76 million; in contrast, the final episode of Friends in May 2004 had a 25 rating and drew about 52 million viewers. (The M*A*S*H finale in 1983 had more than 100 million viewers.)Data from: The World Almanac and Book of Facts, 1997 (Mahwah, N.J.: World Almanac Books, 1996), 296; Corbett Steinberg, TV Facts (New York: Facts on File Publications, 1985); A.C. Nielsen Media Research.
ProgramNetworkDateRating
M*A*S*H (final episode)CBS2/28/8360.2
Dallas (“Who Shot J.R.?” episode)CBS11/21/8053.3
The Fugitive (final episode)ABC8/29/6745.9
Cheers (final episode)NBC5/20/9345.5
Ed Sullivan Show (Beatles’ first U.S. TV appearance)CBS2/9/6445.3
Beverly HillbilliesCBS1/8/6444.0
Ed Sullivan Show (Beatles’ second U.S. TV appearance)CBS2/16/6443.8
Beverly HillbilliesCBS1/15/6442.8
Beverly HillbilliesCBS2/26/6442.4
Beverly HillbilliesCBS3/25/6442.2