Goodbye, Farewell and Amen Now 7th Most-Watched TV Program of All Time

6 Comments

The Super Bowl has struck again. The final Nielsen ratings have been released and Sunday’s big game between the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks not surprisingly drew a huge audience. Its 114.4 million viewers makes it the most-watched single TV program of all time in the United States, topping last year’s Super Bowl by more than two million viewers.

The February 1983 broadcast of “Goodbye, Farewell and Amen” is now the seventh most-watched program behind six recent Super Bowls:

Most-Watched Television Broadcasts in U.S. History

## Program Year Average Viewers
1. Super Bowl XLIX 2015 114,442,000
2. Super Bowl XLVIII 2014 112,191,000
3. Super Bowl XLVI 2012 111,346,000
4. Super Bowl XLV 2011 111,010,000
5. Super Bowl XLVII 2013 108,693,000
6. Super Bowl XLIV 2010 106,476,000
7. “Goodbye, Farewell and Amen” 1983 105,970,000

Before M*A*S*H fans get too upset, population growth alone suggests that every Super Bowl from here on out will draw more viewers than “Goodbye, Farewell and Amen.” And it remains the highest-RATED single television broadcast by a wide margin with a 60.2 Nielsen rating. By comparison, Super Bowl XLIX could only muster a 47.5 rating, making it the fourth highest-rated Super Bowl but only the ninth highest-rated program of all time.

I’ve revised my Goodbye, Farewell and Amen Ratings Analysis with information about Super Bowl XLIX.

6 Replies to “Goodbye, Farewell and Amen Now 7th Most-Watched TV Program of All Time”

  1. I wonder if M*A*S*H still isn’t technically the most “watched” program in TV history. How many of the “viewers” of the various Super Bowls actually watch it?
    When I attended a Super Bowl party a few years ago, I was rather amused by the few people who actually looked at the TV during the game. I personally don’t find this especially surprising given the fact that most Super Bowls are dreadfully boring affairs in terms of engaging television.

  2. To me, and I’m sure others will tend to agree, it’ll always be the most-watched scripted program ever.

  3. In 1983 the US population was 233M, today it’s 316M. Almost 47% of the US population watched the last episode of MASH, the SB is 36%, a huge difference. Based on percentages if the US population was 316M in 1983 viewership would be around 150M

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