TV Basics: Top 50 Sports Telecasts of All Time
It's no surprise that 38 of the top 50 sports programs are Super Bowl games. In third place is the XVII Winter Olympics (2/23/94); this ratings spike can be attributed to the Harding/Kerrigan "incident."

Rank Program Date Network HH
Rating
1 Super Bowl XVI 1/24/1982 CBS 49.1  
2 Super Bowl XVII 1/30/1983 NBC 48.6  
3 XVII Winter Olympics 2/23/1994 CBS 48.5  
4 Super Bowl XX 1/26/1986 NBC 48.3  
5 Super Bowl XII 1/15/1978 CBS 47.2  
6 Super Bowl XIII 1/21/1979 NBC 47.1  
7 Super Bowl XVIII 1/22/1984 CBS 46.4  
7 Super Bowl XIX 1/20/1985 ABC 46.4  
9 Super Bowl XIV 1/20/1980 CBS 46.3  
10 Super Bowl XXX 1/28/1996 NBC 46.0  
11 Super Bowl XXI 1/25/1987 CBS 45.8  
12 Super Bowl XXVIII 1/29/1994 NBC 45.5  
13 Super Bowl XXVII 1/31/1993 NBC 45.1  
14 Super Bowl XXXII 1/25/1998 NBC 44.5  
15 Super Bowl XI 1/9/1977 NBC 44.4  
15 Super Bowl XV 1/25/1981 NBC 44.4  
17 Super Bowl VI 1/16/1972 CBS 44.2  
18 XVII Winter Olympics 2/25/1994 CBS 44.1  
19 Super Bowl XXIII 1/22/1989 NBC 43.5  
20 Super Bowl XLII 2/3/2008 FOX 43.3  
20 Super Bowl XXXI 1/26/1997 FOX 43.3  
20 Super Bowl XXXIV 1/30/2000 ABC 43.3  
23 NFC Championship Game 1/10/1982 CBS 42.9  
24 Super Bowl VII 1/14/1973 NBC 42.7  
25 Super Bowl XLI 2/4/2007 CBS 42.6  
26 Super Bowl IX 1/12/1975 NBC 42.4  
27 Super Bowl X 1/18/1976 CBS 42.3  
28 Super Bowl XXV 1/27/1991 ABC 41.9  
28 Super Bowl XXII 1/31/1988 ABC 41.9  
30 Super Bowl VIII 1/13/1974 CBS 41.6  
30 Super Bowl XL 2/5/2006 ABC 41.6  
32 Super Bowl XXXVIII 2/1/2004 CBS 41.4  
33 Super Bowl XXIX 1/29/1995 ABC 41.3  
34 Super Bowl XXXIX 2/6/2005 FOX 41.1  
35 Super Bowl XXXVII 1/6/2003 ABC 40.7  
36 Super Bowl XXXVI 2/3/2002 FOX 40.4  
36 Super Bowl XXXV 1/28/2001 CBS 40.4  
38 Super Bowl XXVI 1/26/1992 CBS 40.3  
39 Super Bowl XXXIII 1/31/1999 FOX 40.2  
40 World Series Game #6 10/21/1980 NBC 40.0  
41 Super Bowl V 1/17/1971 NBC 39.9  
42 World Series Game #7 10/22/1975 NBC 39.6  
43 World Series Game #4 10/6/1963 NBC 39.5  
44 Super Bowl IV 1/11/1970 CBS 39.4  
45 Super Bowl XXIV 1/28/1990 CBS 39.0  
46 World Series Game #7 10/27/1986 NBC 38.9  
47 World Series Game #7 10/20/1982 NBC 38.2  
48 WBA Heavyweight Championship 9/15/1978 ABC 37.3  
48 Heavyweight Boxing Championship 9/29/1977 NBC 37.3  
50 World Series Game #6 10/28/1981 ABC 37.2  
           
Source: Nielsen Media Research January 1964 - February 2008


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