History: It Was Only A Matter Of Time
By: Jason Arcuri
Having put so much effort into making it a premier league, Rozelle felt the need to celebrate the "new" NFL through the 1967 championship game, which he deemed the "Super Bowl". Similar to all other things created by Rozelle, the game was an instant success, and the Super Bowl became an annual event whose growing popularity was arguably tied to the marriage between the NFL and TV. By 1972, this claim had become an actual reality as Super Bowl VI "became the most watched American TV show of all time" (Catsis, 1996, p.37). Over time, that game has been surpassed in the TV ratings - by more Super Bowls! Incredibly, "22 of the 50 highest rated television events of all time have involved pro football" (Menon, 2003, p.A14), with the majority of these being Super Bowls themselves (the others being league playoff games). To this day, the only programs to have achieved a higher rating than Super Bowl XVI in 1982 have been the final episode of Mash, the "Who shot JR?" episode of Dallas and the final segment of the Roots series (Catsis, 1996, p.72).
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Top Fifteen
TV Shows of All Time
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Program
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Network
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Date
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Rating*
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Households
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|
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1)
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M*A*S*H - Final Episode |
CBS
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2/28/83
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60.2
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50,150,000
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|
2)
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Dallas - "Who Shot JR?" |
CBS
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11/21/80
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53.3
|
41,470,000
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|
3)
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Roots - Part Eight |
ABC
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1/30/77
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51.1
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36,380,000
|
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4)
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Super Bowl XVI - SF 26, CIN 21 |
CBS
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1/24/82
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49.1
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40,020,000
|
|
5)
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Super Bowl XVII - WAS 27, MIA 17 |
NBC
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1/30/83
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48.6
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40,480,000
|
|
6)
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Winter Olympics - Kerrigan/Harding |
CBS
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2/23/94
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48.5
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45,690,000
|
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7)
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Super Bowl XX - CHI 46, NE 10 |
NBC
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1/26/86
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48.3
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41,490,000
|
|
8)
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Gone With The Wind - Part 1 |
NBC
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11/7/76
|
47.7
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33,960,000
|
|
9)
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Gone With The Wind - Part 2 |
NBC
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11/8/76
|
47.4
|
33,750,000
|
|
10)
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Super Bowl XII - DAL 27, DEN 10 |
CBS
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1/15/78
|
47.2
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34,410.000
|
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11)
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Super Bowl XIII - PIT 35, DAL 31 |
NBC
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1/21/79
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47.1
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35,090,000
|
|
12)
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Bob Hope Christmas Special |
NBC
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1/15/70
|
46.6
|
27,260,000
|
|
13)
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Super Bowl XVIII - OAK 38, WAS 9 |
CBS
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1/22/84
|
46.4
|
38,800,000
|
|
14)
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Super Bowl XIX - SF 38, MIA 16 |
ABC
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1/20/85
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46.4
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39,390,000
|
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15)
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Super Bowl XIV - PIT 31, LA 19 |
CBS
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1/20/80
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46.3
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35,390,000
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*Rating = the estimated percent of all TV households or persons tuned to a specific station or program Source: Statistics courtesy of Nielsen Media Research
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Disclaimer © 2003 - 2004 by class of SOSC 4319 at York University |