The Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attack is by far the most memorable... (Associated Press) 
 
 The Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attack is by far the most memorable moment shared by television viewers during the past 50 years, a study released on Wednesday concluded. The only thing that came close was President John F. Kennedy's assassination and its aftermath in 1963, but that was only for the people aged 55 and over who experienced those events as they happened instead of replayed as an historical artifact. The most impactful television events of the last 50 years, as measured in a survey conducted by Nielsen and Sony Electronics. By that measure, the Sept. 11 tragedy was nearly twice as impactful as the second-ranked moment, which was the coverage of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The other biggest TV events, in order, were the 1995 verdict in O.J. Simpson's murder trial, the Challenger space shuttle explosion in 1986 and the death of Osama bin Laden last year, the survey found. Men and women agreed on the three most impactful television events _ Sept. 11, Katrina and Simpson. For example, women ranked the 1997 funeral of Princess Diana as the fourth most memorable event, while men put that at No. Women ranked last year's death of Whitney Houston at No. 5, with men judging it No. JFK's assassination was the second-most impactful TV event among people 55 and over, while for those between 18 and 34, it was the death of Osama bin Laden. Young people also ranked Barack Obama's Election Night speech in 2008 at No. 3, while that didn't move older viewers quite as much (No. The rankings are based on a questionnaire of consumers about events they had watched, if they remember where they were and if they discussed the events with others.
– What moments are engraved most profoundly into the minds of television viewers in the past 50 years? Sony Electronics and Nielsen surveyed more than 1,000 adults and found that the 9/11 attacks are the easy No. 1, though OJ Simpson has the distinction of cracking the top 10 twice. The top vote-getters, from AP and the New York Post. 9/11 attacks Hurricane Katrina (2005) OJ Simpson verdict (1995) Challenger shuttle explosion (1986) Death of Osama bin Laden (2011) OJ Simpson's white Bronco chase (1994) Japan's earthquake and tsunami (2011) Columbine school shooting (1999) BP oil spill (2010) Princess Diana's funeral (1997)