I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that Seinfeld is now the number 1 show of all time.I'm not sure if this is true.

You'd have to be more specific. #1 in syndication? Yes.

Originally posted by tylerjjj
I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that Seinfeld is now the number 1 show of all time .I'm not sure if this is true.

you must be referring to the TV Guide list

Seinfeld, with its huge popularity during its run, and then its huge popularity in syndication (it's the number 2 comedy in syndication still, 7 years after it ended, beat only by Everybody Loves Raymond) would probably make it the number on series of all time.

An interesting, albeit impossible thing to do would be to take all the tv series that have aired in first run, repeats and syndication and total the number of viewers who have seen the series. Seinfeld has had approximately 6 billion viewers in first run alone, just in the US. I think that Friends or Seinfeld would likely come out on top, just because of the enormous popularity of Friends overseas, particularly in younger people in places like China. I wouldn't count out "The Simpsons," however.

Actually, I think Baywatch is the most popular television show of all time, globally. It was broadcast in over 120 countries, conflicting reports say it was seen by 1 billion to 2.4 billion people.

Seinfeld has had approximately 6 billion viewers in first run alone, just in the US

Where did you get that number? Six billion viewers? And in first run episodes only? Meaning all the viewers watching each episode as it was first shown in primetime?

I forgot Baywatch.

The numbers for Seinfeld I estimated. 6 Seasons at 23 episodes at at roughly 30 million viewers=4,100,000,000 total viewers. The first three seasons the show aired fewer episodes and drew fewer viewers.

Fair enough.

But let us also consider the case of another show. Gunsmoke, for example? If only 10,000,000 people watched the series ever week (and that is probably tens of millions of people too low) than the total viewership, per your formula, would be:

635 x 10,000,000 = 6,350,000,000

At 20,000,000 viewers on a weekly basis:

635 x 20,000,000 = 12,700,000,000

At 40,000,000,000 viewers on a weekly basis:

635 x 40,000,000 = 25,400,000,000,000

Quite a number of viewers, eh?

A lot of shows from back in the 1950s and 1960s were pulling in tens of millions of viewers on a weekly basis. Consider this: out of the top thirty shows from the 1963-1964 season, the lowest rated show had a 21.5 rating. For the 2002-2003 season, the highest rated show had a 16.3 rating. Some of the highest rated single broadcasts of all time are episodes of Dallas and The Beverly Hillbillies - and regular episodes, not finales.

All of the shows in the past decade are no doubt easily eclipsed in terms of first run numbers, per these simple calculations, by tons of shows from decades past. Determining the single most watched show by adding all repeats, first runs and syndicated airings, would be impossible, as you stated. It would be interesting, though.

Originally posted by tvobscurities
Fair enough.

But let us also consider the case of another show. Gunsmoke, for example? If only 10,000,000 people watched the series ever week (and that is probably tens of millions of people too low) than the total viewership, per your formula, would be:

635 x 10,000,000 = 6,350,000,000

At 20,000,000 viewers on a weekly basis:

635 x 20,000,000 = 12,700,000,000

At 40,000,000,000 viewers on a weekly basis:

635 x 40,000,000 = 25,400,000,000,000

Quite a number of viewers, eh?

A lot of shows from back in the 1950s and 1960s were pulling in tens of millions of viewers on a weekly basis. Consider this: out of the top thirty shows from the 1963-1964 season, the lowest rated show had a 21.5 rating. For the 2002-2003 season, the highest rated show had a 16.3 rating. Some of the highest rated single broadcasts of all time are episodes of Dallas[i] and [i]The Beverly Hillbillies - and regular episodes, not finales.

All of the shows in the past decade are no doubt easily eclipsed in terms of first run numbers, per these simple calculations, by tons of shows from decades past. Determining the single most watched show by adding all repeats, first runs and syndicated airings, would be impossible, as you stated. It would be interesting, though.


Plus shows back then didn't have to compete with cable too, so 10 million viewers(or more) then was really high compared to now :)

How many years did Seinfeld stay on the air? How many seasons?

It had nine seasons, but was on for eight years. Its first few seasons were midseason replacements.

Originally posted by Lola Dane
Plus shows back then didn't have to compete with cable too, so 10 million viewers(or more) then was really high compared to now :)

Actually, 10 million viewers would be considered lower then, rather than now.

Originally posted by barwars
Actually, 10 million viewers would be considered lower then, rather than now.

Yeah 10 million would, but it would still be higher compared to 10 million now, if that makes sense

Originally posted by Lola Dane
Yeah 10 million would, but it would still be higher compared to 10 million now, if that makes sense

Not really.
If a show has more competition (now) -- the standard for success is lower.

Whereas back in the 50s, 60s and 70s.... network shows would get double, sometimes triple, the viewers they would today.

But you also have to consider the number of homes with tv's at that time. Right now, the total is 108 million. In the 60-61 season, it was around 45 million. So while a series generally got much higher household ratings then, their total number of viewers was less than series draw now. The top rated series in that season drew a 37.3 rating (it was Gunsmoke), which translates into 16.8 million households. CSI typically draws an 18 rating now, which is 19.4mil households.

This is why merely looking at household ratings is misleading.

You basically reach your high point in the 1980s where The Cosby Show was drew a 35 rating in its second season. Because the total number of households had reached some 85 million, TCS was drawing 30 million households, giving it the most watched season of any tv series ever.

the highest houehold rating overall is I Love Lucy's second season, at a 69.3. But there were only 15 million households at the time, meaning that the series drew 10.4 million households total, which would translate into a 9.6 rating today. ILL would rank 15th overall this season, just above "SVU," but behind "The Apprentice."