List of most watched television broadcasts in the United States
The following is a list of most-watched television broadcasts in the United States based on average viewership and household ratings measurement conducted by Nielsen. The Super Bowl has frequently been the most-watched American television broadcast of the year. The Apollo 11 Moon Landing was the most-watched U.S. television event in history, drawing nearly 150 million viewers. Most-watched broadcasts of all time Of the 30 most-watched broadcasts, 22 are Super Bowls, four are news events, three are primetime television programs, and one is a non-football-related sports event. Though the Apollo 11 Moon landing is the most-watched television event in American history, it is technically considered a news event, meaning that Fox's live telecast of Super Bowl LVII in 2023 holds the record for the largest average viewership of any live single- network U.S. television broadcast, with 115.1 million viewers. The most watched primetime programs (non Super Bowl related) are the finale of M*A*S*H in 1983 (106 million viewers), Roots ("Part VIII"), The Day After (tied at 100 million), Leon Spinks vs. Muhammad Ali II (90 million), Dallas's 1980 "Who Done It" episode (83.6 million), the 1993 series finale of Cheers (80.5 million), the February 23, 1994, broadcast of ladies' singles figure