List of most watched television broadcasts

The following content contains the tentative list of the most watched television broadcasts around the world in selected countries, with the corresponding peak viewership (or ratings share) records, the corresponding year of such broadcast, and the mentioned media research organizations tallying nationwide viewership records. Take note, however, that the most watched television broadcast in any of the following nations can also be broadcast simultaneously in other foreign territories for a single year, and may rank into the most watched television broadcasts for such nations as well.

Many events have been reported as been watched by large global audiences. These over-estimates occurred at the wedding of Charles, Prince of Wales, and Lady Diana Spencer,^[1][2]) the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales^[3][4][5] Michael Jackson's memorial service,^[6] and the 2010 rescue of 33 trapped miners in Chile,^[7] and the world's first ever live entertainment satellite broadcast (for an Elvis Presley show live from Hawaii, titled Aloha from Hawaii). The wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton was predicted to draw two billion viewers,^[8] but as it is impossible to accurately gauge total viewers across the globe due to how data is collected, some sources have suggested that the figure was not accurate with one suggesting that it drew a verified audience of 161 million viewers from 47% of the world population.^[9]

On 20 July 1969, an estimated 530 million people watched the live global broadcast of the first humans ever to walk on the surface of the moon (this constituted around 14% of total population of the world at the time),^[10][11] despite the fact that the first moonwalk took place in the middle of the night in Europe (at 02:56 in Ireland, Portugal and the United Kingdom and 03:56 in France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain) and it was not broadcast at all in the Eastern Bloc^[12] except Romania^[13] and Poland.^[14] The 2011 Cricket World Cup semi-final between India and Pakistan is reported to have been watched by about 1 billion people by The Guardian,^[15] which if accurate would mean it had more than twice as many viewers as the final, which was watched by 400 million people based on the available data.^[9] And the annual Eurovision Song Contest, considered to be one of the world's longest running and most watched reality television franchises, is annually reported to have between 100 and 600 million viewers, depending on the source.^[16][17]

According to Telegraph.co.uk, the 6 hour 45 minutes long 2015 Cricket World Cup match between India and Pakistan played on 15 February 2015 was seen by nearly 1 billion people.^[18] While on digital platform, the cricket match was seen by nearly 25 million viewers from India creating a new record.^[19]

IPG independent media agency Initiative Worldwide estimated that 260 million people worldwide watched the 2006 FIFA World Cup Final (the average audience for the broadcast of the game).^[20] Six hundred million watched some part of the game (the "reach").^[21] In 2010 another independent firm estimated that 322 million viewers watched the 2006 final on average, with a reach of 638 million.^[22] None of these figures match the estimate by event organizers FIFA, a "global cumulative audience" of 715.1 million people.^[23][24]

Despite frequent deliberations of event organizers on increasing such viewership figures, the 2008 Summer Olympics boasts the official world record for the largest global viewership, and the highest peak viewer share in the world for a multi-day television broadcast. It is estimated by Nielsen Media Research that between 4.7 billion and 5 billion individual viewers (or around 70% of the world's 7-billion human population) watched some part of the coverage, including its peak final hour of the live broadcast of the closing ceremony in August 2008.^[25][26] Additionally, Idols remained as the international television franchise with the largest collective global viewership in the world to date, shown in versions in over 150 countries worldwide and watched by at least 6.5 billion viewers (more than 90% of the world's 7-billion human population).^[27] Reality television franchises broadcasts and international sporting events tend to comprise some of the most watched television programs around the world, as tallied by their media research bases.

National

Australia

Most watched broadcasts of all time (Total Viewers)

The following is David Dale's approximate ranking of the most watched television shows of all time in Australia using data from Nielsen Corporation (before 2001) and OzTAM (2001 and later).^[28]

Most viewed broadcasts since 2001 (OzTAM 5 City Metro Average)^[29][30]

The following table is a list of the most viewed programmes based on the OzTAM 5 City Metro Average rating system. It does not include regional numbers and uses the average viewership, not the peak viewership.

Brazil

Canada

The most watched television broadcast in Canadian history was the Gold medal game of the men's hockey tournament at the 2010 Winter Olympics, played between the United States and Canada at General Motors Place (renamed "Canada Hockey Place" for the Olympics) in Vancouver. A confirmed 16.6 million Canadians watched the whole game, roughly one-half of the country's entire population.^[34] A groundbreaking 26.5 million Canadians watched some part of the game, over 80 percent of the country's 34-million-person population.^[35] According to multiple sources, 13.3 million Canadians watched the Opening Ceremonies of the Vancouver 2010 Olympics, which was the previous record.^[36]

Many believed the final game of the 1972 Summit Series had up to 18 million viewers, but this was not so; only 4.3 million people watched it. 10.3 million people watched the ice hockey gold medal final of the 2002 Winter Olympics.^[37]

China

China Central Television's Spring Festival Gala has regularly attracted between 700 million^[38] to one billion viewers annually.^[39]

The CCTV's main evening news broadcast Xinwen Lianbo has a daily audience of around 135 million people,^[40] and it is also one of the most expensive shows in the world per advertising spots, with its 2013 advertising slots selling for a record of 5.4 billion yuan.^[40]

Germany

1. Public viewing areas were not included in these ratings.

2. The approximated rating is about 60 to 70 million.^[41]

3. The extra time reached even 31.31 million viewers.^[42]

4. Summary of the 2010 FIFA World Cup ratings.

5. Summary of the UEFA Euro 2008 ratings.

6. Summary of the UEFA Euro 2012 Germany vs Italy semi-final game.

Note: The UEFA Euro 2008 final is missing from the list, because the lengthy trophy presentation was included into the official ratings. The game itself was watched by 28.05 million viewers.^[43]

Ireland

A list of most-watched shows in the Republic of Ireland in the 21st century was released in January 2015. The Late Late Toy Show held the top six spots, with the 2014 edition drawing 1,593,000 viewers: over one-third of the country's population. Other high-performing shows were Who Wants to be a Millionaire?, crime drama Love/Hate, Mrs. Brown's Boys, The Sunday Game, UEFA Euro 2012 and the Eurovision Song Contest.^[44]

Philippines

AGB Nielsen Philippines

The following table shows the all-time highest rating television shows in Mega Manila as tallied by AGB Nielsen Philippines since 1992. Take note, however, that the ratings are from a single highest recorded episode of the show (in the case of the TV series) and it is not the average over-all ratings for the whole season/series.

Kantar Media Philippines

Kantar Media Philippines officially released its national television audience measurement data on January 2009 via Taylor Nelson Sofres/TNS. Since then, these are the shows that posted the all-time highest television ratings in the Philippines. Still, take note that the ratings are from a single highest recorded episode of the show (in the case of the TV series) and it is not the average over-all ratings for the whole season/series.

Portugal

^{[47][48][49] [50][51][52][53][54][55]}

Sweden

Statistics from Mediamätning Skandinavien.^[56]

Most watched programmes per year

Most watched sport events per year

United Kingdom

Most watched programmes

The following is a list of most watched programmes, excluding sporting events and news coverage. The mid-1980s introduction of in-week repeat showings accounts for six of the top ten programmes. On this measure, the 1996 Christmas edition of Only Fools and Horses is the most watched non-repeated, non-documentary programme of all time in the UK. It is the third most watched programme of all time on a single channel after the 2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony and the wedding of The Princess Anne in 1973 (see below).

• Post-1981 figures verified by the Broadcasters' Audience Research Board (BARB)
• Pre-1981 figures supplied by the British Film Institute

* denotes aggregated figure with repeat showing.

Most watched films

These are the most watched films by total number of viewers^[68] (dates are when the films were broadcast, not necessarily when they were produced).

Most watched special events

The majority of special events attracting large audiences are often carried on more than one channel. The most watched programme of all time on a single channel is the 1973 wedding ceremony of The Princess Anne, shown only on BBC1.

Note: The Wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton (29 April 2011) received a total audience peak of 26 million viewers, but this is a combined figure aggregated from the ten different channels that broadcast the ceremony. The highest figures of these were 13.59 million on BBC1, with an extra 4.02 million watching on ITV.^[71]

Most watched programmes per year

Notes

• ^1 – The Royal Wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton (29 April 2011) received a total audience peak of 26 million viewers, but this is a combined figure aggregated from the ten different channels that broadcast the ceremony. The highest figures of these were 13.59 million on BBC One, followed by 4.02 million watching on ITV.
• ^2 – The 2014 FIFA World Cup Final was broadcast by both BBC One and ITV. The highest figures were 14.92 million on BBC One, followed by 2.34 million on ITV.

United States

NBC's live telecast of Super Bowl XLIX currently stands as the country's most watched single television broadcast, with 114.4 million viewers.^[85] During this broadcast, the halftime show featuring Katy Perry was watched by 118.5 million viewers.^[85] The broadcast also reached a current all-time high of 168-million viewership mark in several portions of the conclusion of the 1 February 2015 Super Bowl telecast. The previous live telecast of Super Bowl XLV in February 2011 helped Fox become the first ever television network in the United States to be watched by at least 100 million American viewers by average for a single primetime night of programming.^[86] Moreover, Super Bowl telecasts account for 23 of the most watched television broadcasts based on overall viewership in U.S. television history.^[87] Additionally, the National Football League (or NFL) regular season is watched since 2012 by at least 200 million individuals in the United States, accounting for the largest consistent annual nationwide viewership for any television event in U.S. television history (representing almost 70% of the American households, more than 80% of the total U.S. television viewers, and more than 60% of the maintained 2010s U.S. population of 320 million).

Most watched series finales – Top 15 list

The finale is not necessarily a show's most watched episode. Notable examples include NBC's Friends, which had almost 53 million viewers for a 1996 episode^[88] (the country's highest rated post-Super Bowl TV series episode, watched by more than 46% of the total U.S. television viewers for that year) that followed the Super Bowl XXX live broadcast of that network, and is more than the 2004 series finale had (52.5 million viewers), and CBS' Dallas, viewed by more than 90 million American viewers after the network's 21 November 1980 primetime telecast of the resolution episode^[89][90] of the internationally known 'Who Shot J.R.' cliffhanger^[91] (the second highest rated single television broadcast in U.S. history, watched by 53.3% of American households and more than 76% of the total U.S. television viewers for that year), almost thrice as many viewers as there were for the 1991 series finale (33.3 million viewers).

The highest rated single television broadcast in U.S. history is the 150-minute long final episode^[92] of M*A*S*H*^[93] (the country's first ever and, to date only, regular primetime television series to be watched by more than 100 million American viewers for an episode), transmitted on primetime by CBS on February 28, 1983, viewed at a peak conclusion by 125 million American viewers (or 60.2% of American households and at least 77% of the total U.S. television viewers). When TV miniseries are taken into the Nielsen tallies, ABC's Roots posted the second most watched series finale in U.S. history, watched on January 30, 1977, by 100 million viewers (51.1% of American households and more than 71% of the total U.S. television viewers that year), but attracted the largest viewership for any type of primetime television series in U.S. history – a record currently standing at between 130 million and 140 million^[94][95] American viewers for its 8-part installment in January 1977 (peaking up to 80% of the total U.S. television viewers in 1977).

CBS' Everybody Loves Raymond bumped the syndicated series Star Trek: The Next Generation out of the Top 15 Nielsen tally of the all-time most watched U.S. TV series finales in May 2005, but the latter remains the most watched of all syndicated programs in U.S. history. NBC aired 2 of the top 5 all-time most watched overall U.S. television series finales to date (both of sitcom genre, behind the 1983 M.A.S.H. and 1977 Roots respective final episodes, and also sandwiching the peak rating record of the August 1967, final broadcast of ABC's The Fugitive) – the May 21, 1993, broadcast of the series finale^[96][97] of Cheers (the country's second highest rated regular, and third overall, series finale on U.S. television, watched by almost 93.5 million American viewers – almost 46% of American households and more than 64% of the total U.S. television viewers that year), and the primetime telecast of the final episode^[98] of Seinfeld on May 14, 1998. Take note that the gap of the viewerships between these and each of the series finales (on May 6 and 13, 2004) of fellow NBC sitcoms Friends and Frasier (which is part of the long highly regarded 'Must See TV'^[99] tagline for Thursday primetime schedule of NBC from 1982 to 2004) fall between 15 million and 20 million viewers.

Most watched series episode of the decade

This table lists the most watched overall television episode for every decade in the United States, as tallied by the Nielsen Media Research since the 1950–51 television season. Take note that the audience share category of the Nielsen ratings only began in the 1959–60 television season.

Most watched series per year

This table lists all the TV shows with the highest average household Nielsen rating for each television season in the United States.^{[109][110][111][112][113]}

Fox's American Idol holds the record for most consecutive (and overall total) seasons at No. 1, with eight. It is also the first ever television series of reality singing competition genre (and Fox's first ever television program) to take the top position in the Nielsen annual primetime television ratings. Take note, however, that American Idol usually airs two live episodes a week for its finals stage (Tuesdays and Wednesdays from its inception in 2002 to 2010, and Wednesdays and Thursdays between 2011 and 2014); for the 2003–2004 season, only the Tuesday (or competition stage) show was ranked No. 1, and for that television season, American Idol as a whole placed second (potentially giving the top spot to CSI: Crime Scene Investigation from CBS, if the ratings of American Idol for that year had been summarized as only 1 day-per-week broadcast format). From 2005 to 2011, the whole show was No. 1 for only seven consecutive (and overall total) seasons, but still ranked No.1 overall in the 18–49 demographic for eight consecutive seasons.^[114]

CBS's All in the Family and NBC's The Cosby Show share second place, ranked No. 1 overall each for 5 consecutive (and overall total) seasons, from 1972 to 1976, and 1986 to 1990, respectively. If the total number of seasons of Nielsen No.1-leads are counted, CBS's 60 Minutes also share second place, and to date is the only primetime program to lead the Nielsen primetime ratings in 3 separate decades – 1970s, 1980s and the 1990s, and together with NBC's ER and Friends, remained the latest primetime programs in the United States of television news, medical drama and sitcom genres to rank first in the Nielsen annual ratings, back in 1994, 1999 and 2002, respectively. NBC's Seinfeld remained as the latest television series to rank first overall in the Nielsen annual television ratings during the final season, back in 1998. Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? remains the latest primetime program from ABC to lead the Nielsen annual primetime television ratings, back in 2000. Meanwhile, NBC's Sunday Night Football debuted in 2012 as the country's first ever regular primetime sports program to rank No.1 in the Nielsen annual primetime television ratings. Take note, however, that the final annual-high Nielsen household share ratings starting the 2007–08 season incorporate both the standard live primetime and time-shifted or delayed DVR viewership figures in the United States only.^[115]

     The program with the all-time highest annual Nielsen average rating
     Two or more programs tie for highest average Nielsen rating in the same season
     The program with the all-time longest consecutive season winning streak in Nielsen ratings

Longest dominating series of the decade

This table lists the primetime television series with the most number of seasons of No. 1 in the Nielsen ratings for every decade in the United States, as tallied by the Nielsen Media Research since the 1950–1951 television season. Only the Nielsen household share will be shown in the following table.

References

Sources

• Mytton, Graham (14 August 2012). "Global Media Research: Can We Know Global Audiences? A View from a BBC Perspective". In Ingrid Volkmer. The Handbook of Global Media Research. John Wiley & Sons. pp. 40–54. ISBN 9781118255292. Retrieved 28 July 2015. 

Citations