What ranked and what tanked -- A complete ranking of all the year's shows
| VIEWERS1 | LAST SEASON2 | % CHANGE3 | |||
| 1 | 34.1 | Seinfeld NBC | 2 | (+11%) | |
| 2 | 30.2 | ER NBC | 1 | (-2%) | |
| 3 | 24.4 | Veronica’s Closet NBC | — | ||
| 4 | 24.0 | Friends NBC | 3 | (-4%) | |
| 5 | 21.8 | Touched by an Angel CBS | 10 | (+7%) | |
| 6 | 21.0 | NFL Monday Night Football ABC | 7 | (-7%) | |
| 7 | 19.9 | Union Square NBC | — | ||
| 8 | 19.8 | 60 Minutes CBS | 11 | (+5%) | |
| 9 | 19.4 | CBS Sunday Movie | 14 | (+11%) | |
| 10 | 18.4 | Home Improvement ABC | 8 | (-15%) | |
| 11 | 17.1 | The X-Files FOX | 12 | (-7%) | |
| 12 | 17.0 | Just Shoot Me NBC | 71 | (+53%) | |
| 13 | 16.7 | The Drew Carey Show ABC | 18 | (-2%) | |
| 16.7 | Frasier NBC | 22 | (+1%) | ||
| 15 | 16.3 | King of the Hill FOX | 27 | (+6%) | |
| 16 | 15.4 | Dateline NBC Monday | — | ||
| 17 | 15.3 | Dateline NBC Tuesday | 27 | (-1%) | |
| 15.3 | The Simpsons FOX | 37 | (+7%) | ||
| 19 | 15.0 | NYPD Blue ABC | 16 | (-14%) | |
| 15.0 | 20/20 ABC Friday | 12 | (-18%) | ||
| 21 | 14.4 | Walker, Texas Ranger CBS | 18 | (-15%) | |
| 22 | 14.2 | NBC Sunday Night Movie | 14 | (-19%) | |
| 14.2 | Primetime Live ABC | 23 | (-12%) | ||
| 24 | 14.1 | Law & Order NBC | 32 | (-5%) | |
| 25 | 13.9 | Dharma & Greg ABC | — | ||
| 13.9 | Diagnosis Murder CBS | 55 | (+10%) | ||
| 13.9 | 20/20 ABC Monday | — | |||
| 28 | 13.8 | Cosby CBS | 24 | (-14%) | |
| 29 | 13.6 | Soul Man ABC | 21 | (-19%) | |
| 30 | 13.5 | Hiller and Diller ABC | — | ||
| 13.5 | Wonderful World of Disney ABC | — | |||
| 32 | 13.4 | Mad About You NBC | 25 | (-15%) | |
| 33 | 13.3 | Everybody Loves Raymond CBS | 82 | (+27%) | |
| 34 | 13.2 | Dateline NBC Friday | 31 | (-11%) | |
| 35 | 13.1 | Promised Land CBS | 58 | (+7%) | |
| 36 | 12.9 | Jag CBS | 62 | (+8%) | |
| 12.9 | Two Guys, a Girl and a… ABC | — | |||
| 38 | 12.8 | ABC Sunday Night Movie | 40 | (-7%) | |
| 12.8 | The Magnificent Seven CBS | — | |||
| 40 | 12.6 | Dateline NBC Sunday 8 P.M. | — | ||
| 41 | 12.5 | Sabrina… ABC, 9 P.M. | 32 | (-16%) | |
| 42 | 12.4 | Ellen ABC | 30 | (-18%) | |
| 43 | 12.3 | Lateline NBC | — | ||
| 12.3 | 3rd Rock From the Sun NBC | 18 | (-28%) | ||
| 45 | 12.1 | Chicago Hope CBS | 39 | (-14%) | |
| 12.1 | Kids Say the Darndest Things CBS | — | |||
| 47 | 12.0 | Spin City ABC | 17 | (-31%) | |
| 48 | 11.9 | Candid Camera CBS | — | ||
| 11.9 | Early Edition CBS | 44 | (-12%) | ||
| 11.9 | Something So Right ABC | 46 | (-11%) | ||
| 51 | 11.7 | Caroline in the City NBC | 29 | (-24%) | |
| 11.7 | Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman CBS | 53 | (-9%) | ||
| 11.7 | Nash Bridges CBS | 65 | (-1%) | ||
| 11.7 | Over the Top ABC | — | |||
| 55 | 11.6 | Boy Meets World ABC | 41 | (-15%) | |
| 56 | 11.5 | The Nanny CBS | 51 | (-12%) | |
| 11.5 | Party of Five FOX | 85 | (+12%) | ||
| 11.5 | That’s Life ABC | — | |||
| 59 | 11.4 | Ally Mcbeal FOX | — | ||
| 11.4 | Beverly Hills, 90210 FOX | 62 | (-4%) | ||
| 11.4 | The Pretender NBC | 74 | (+5%) | ||
| 11.4 | Working NBC | — | |||
| 63 | 11.3 | Funniest Home Videos ABC | 91 | (+11%) | |
| 11.3 | George & Leo CBS | — | |||
| 11.3 | Grace Under Fire ABC | 49 | (-14%) | ||
| 11.3 | Sabrina… ABC, 8 P.M. | — | |||
| 67 | 11.2 | Cybill CBS | 35 | (-22%) | |
| 68 | 11.0 | NewsRadio NBC | 96 | (+15%) | |
| 69 | 10.9 | 48 Hours CBS | 85 | (+7%) | |
| 10.9 | You Wish ABC | — | |||
| 71 | 10.8 | Dateline NBC Sunday 7 P.M. | 74 | (-1%) | |
| 10.8 | Suddenly Susan NBC | 4 | (-56%) | ||
| 10.8 | 20/20 ABC, Thursday | — | |||
| 74 | 10.7 | Homicide: Life on the Street NBC | 69 | (-5%) | |
| 10.7 | The Naked Truth NBC | 5 | (-56%) | ||
| 76 | 10.6 | Teen Angel ABC | — | ||
| 77 | 10.5 | The Closer CBS | — | ||
| 78 | 10.3 | Dateline NBC Friday 8 P.M. | — | ||
| 10.3 | Fired Up NBC | 6 | (-56%) | ||
| 80 | 10.2 | Melrose Place FOX | 65 | (-14%) | |
| 81 | 10.1 | World’s Wildest Police Videos FOX | — | ||
| 82 | 10.0 | Cops 2 FOX | 99 | (+6%) | |
| 10.0 | Michael Hayes CBS | — | |||
| 10.0 | The Practice ABC | 55 | (-21%) | ||
| 10.0 | Public Eye CBS | — | |||
| 86 | 9.9 | For Your Love NBC | — | ||
| 9.9 | Murphy Brown CBS | 35 | (-31%) | ||
| 9.9 | Profiler NBC | 76 | (-8%) | ||
| 9.9 | Style & Substance CBS | — | |||
| 9.9 | Unsolved Mysteries CBS | 58 | (-20%) | ||
| 91 | 9.8 | AMW: America Fights Back FOX | 94 | (+1%) | |
| 92 | 9.7 | Jenny NBC | — | ||
| 93 | 9.5 | The World’s Funniest! FOX | — | ||
| 94 | 9.3 | Brooklyn South CBS | — | ||
| 9.3 | Dellaventura CBS | — | |||
| 96 | 9.2 | FOX Tuesday Night Movie | 85 | (-11%) | |
| 97 | 9.1 | Men Behaving Badly NBC | 79 | (-14%) | |
| 9.1 | Tv Censored Bloopers NBC | — | |||
| 99 | 8.9 | Family Matters CBS | 41 | (-35%) | |
| 100 | 8.7 | Cops FOX | 108 | (+1% | |
| 101 | 8.5 | Four Corners CBS | — | ||
| 102 | 8.4 | Step by Step CBS | 50 | (-36%) | |
| 103 | 8.3 | Damon FOX | — | ||
| 104 | 8.2 | ABC Thursday Night Movie | 91 | (-20%) | |
| 8.2 | The Gregory Hines Show CBS | — | |||
| 8.2 | House Rules NBC | — | |||
| 8.2 | Millennium FOX | 85 | (-20%) | ||
| 8.2 | Sleepwalkers NBC | — | |||
| 109 | 8.0 | ABC Sat. Night at the Movies | 76 | (-26%) | |
| 8.0 | Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction? FOX | — | |||
| 8.0 | Meego CBS | — | |||
| 112 | 7.9 | The Tony Danza Show NBC | — | ||
| 113 | 7.8 | Players NBC | — | ||
| 114 | 7.5 | The Visitor FOX | — | ||
| 115 | 7.1 | Getting Personal FOX | — | ||
| 7.1 | Prey ABC | — | |||
| 117 | 7.0 | Living Single FOX | 101 | (-25%) | |
| 118 | 6.8 | Ask Harriet FOX | — | ||
| 6.8 | Between Brothers FOX | — | |||
| 120 | 6.7 | Timecop ABC | — | ||
| 121 | 6.6 | Dawson’s Creek WB | — | ||
| 122 | 6.5 | ABC News Saturday Night | — | ||
| 6.5 | New York Undercover FOX | 102 | (-29%) | ||
| 124 | 6.4 | C-16 ABC | — | ||
| 125 | 6.3 | Total Security ABC | — | ||
| 126 | 6.2 | Built to Last NBC | — | ||
| 127 | 6.1 | Nothing Sacred ABC | — | ||
| 128 | 6.0 | Significant Others FOX | — | ||
| 129 | 5.9 | Cracker ABC | — | ||
| 5.9 | 413 Hope St. FOX | — | |||
| 131 | 5.8 | 7th Heaven WB | 148 | (+81%) | |
| 132 | 5.4 | Star Trek: Voyager UPN | 125 | (-13%) | |
| 133 | 5.2 | Buffy The Vampire Slayer WB | 144 | (+41%) | |
| 134 | 5.1 | The Steve Harvey Show WB | 141 | (+28%) | |
| 5.1 | The Wayans Bros. WB | 134 | (+9%) | ||
| 136 | 5.0 | Push ABC | — | ||
| 5.0 | Smart Guy WB | 137 | (+11%) | ||
| 138 | 4.8 | Love Boat: The Next Wave UPN | — | ||
| 139 | 4.7 | Sister, Sister WB | 139 | (+9%) | |
| 140 | 4.3 | Malcolm & Eddie UPN | 130 | (-12%) | |
| 141 | 4.0 | In the House UPN | 136 | (-13%) | |
| 4.0 | Moesha UPN | 130 | (-18%) | ||
| 143 | 3.9 | Good News UPN | — | ||
| 3.9 | The Jamie Foxx Show WB | 130 | (-20%) | ||
| 145 | 3.8 | Sparks UPN | 145 | (+6%) | |
| 3.8 | Unhappily Ever After WB | 140 | (-7%) | ||
| 147 | 3.7 | The Sentinel UPN | 134 | (-21%) | |
| 148 | 3.6 | Clueless UPN | 46 | (-73%) | |
| 149 | 3.4 | The Parent ‘Hood WB | 147 | (0%) | |
| 150 | 3.2 | Three WB | — | ||
| 151 | 3.1 | Hitz UPN | — | ||
| 152 | 2.8 | Kelly Kelly WB | — | ||
| 2.8 | Nick Freno: Licensed Teacher WB | 138 | (-36%) | ||
| 2.8 | The Tom Show WB | — | |||
| 2.8 | You’re the One WB | — | |||
| 156 | 2.7 | Alright, Already WB | — | ||
| 2.7 | Head Over Heels UPN | — |
1. IN MILLIONS (SEPT. 22, 1997 TO MAY 17, 1998)
2. SEPT. 16, 1996 TO MAY 21, 1997
3. PERCENT CHANGE REFLECTS DIFFERENCE IN VIEWERSHIP.
SOURCE: EW ANALYSIS OF NIELSEN MEDIA RESEARCH DATA
Comments