Since the advent of commercial television, ratings represented a matter of life and death on the air to virtually every television star and series. As the only method of quickly determining the size of each show’s audience, ratings decided whether a show continued or was cancelled.
The Nielsen ratings (reported by the AC Neilsen Company of Chicago) began in the US in 1950 using the rating system market analyst Arthur C. Nielsen and his company had developed for radio.
The following compilation lists the top-rated television shows in America for every year between 1950 and 1999. You might be surprised . . .
1950 – 1951 Texaco Star Theatre
1951 – 1952 Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts
1952 – 1953 I Love Lucy
1953 – 1954 I Love Lucy
1954 – 1955 I Love Lucy
1955 – 1956 The $64,000 Question
1956 – 1957 I Love Lucy
1957 – 1958 Gunsmoke
1958 – 1959 Gunsmoke
1959 – 1960 Gunsmoke
1960 – 1961 Gunsmoke
1961 – 1962 Wagon Train
1962 – 1963 The Beverly Hillbillies
1963 – 1964 The Beverly Hillbillies
1964 – 1965 Bonanza
1965 – 1966 Bonanza
1966 – 1967 Bonanza
1967 – 1968 The Andy Griffith Show
1968 – 1969 Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In
1969 – 1970 Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In
1970 – 1971 Marcus Welby MD
1971 – 1972 All in the Family
1972 – 1973 All in the Family
1973 – 1974 All in the Family
1974 – 1975 All in the Family
1975 – 1976 All in the Family
1976 – 1977 Happy Days
1977 – 1978 Laverne & Shirley
1978 – 1979 Laverne & Shirley
1979 – 1980 60 Minutes
1980 – 1981 Dallas
1981 – 1982 Dallas
1982 – 1983 60 Minutes
1983 – 1984 Dallas
1984 – 1985 Dynasty
1985 – 1986 The Cosby Show
1986 – 1987 The Cosby Show
1987 – 1988 The Cosby Show
1988 – 1989 The Cosby Show
1989 – 1990 Roseanne
1990 – 1991 Cheers
1991 – 1992 60 Minutes
1992 – 1993 60 Minutes
1993 – 1994 60 Minutes
1994 – 1995 Seinfeld
1995 – 1996 ER
1996 – 1997 ER
1997 – 1998 Seinfeld
1998 – 1999 ER
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