Primetime ratings from the 70's

[Soapsuds]

Noticed that Dallas ratings during the 1978-1979 season are all over the place. I guess that's because the episodes were stand alone.

[te.]

It's mostly down to it bouncing around the schedule - it started out on Saturday 10PM (2x01-2x07), then to Sunday 10PM (2x08-2x15), then to Friday 10PM (2x16-2x24).

[Paul Raven]

The 75-76 season was an interesting one on many levels.

ABC went into the season in perennial 3rd place, coming off a poor 74-75.

The big news early in the season was CBS struggling,with NBC in first pace.

But ABC was slowly gaining momentum.

Going into the season they had Six Million Dollar Man on Sunday night that was winning it's timeslot once Cher on CBS started to falter.

Their one new hit was Starsky and Hutch Wed @10 up against faltering Petrocelli on NBC and new season flop Kate McShane on CBS.

As the season wore on Happy Days began to blossom inching closer to Good Times on CBS.

That helped Welcome Back Kotter at 8.30 as did CBS moving MASH to Friday that season and replacing it with Joe & Sons which struggled.

CBS regained their lead and it was NBC that slipped, leaving second place to ABC on many weeks.

ABC then made some mid season moves which propelled it into 1st place for the first time ever.

Laverne & Shirley had the highest rating new series debut in 10 years 35.1/49. Before that Happy Days hit it's highest rating ever 32.0/46

On Wed Bionic Woman hit the top 10 every week. On Jan 28 26.0/41 which pushed follow up Baretta to its season high 26.8/39

Donny and Marie was sheduled Fri @ 8 and was the first show to challenge Sanford and Son. It benefitted from NBC moving Chico &The Man and replacing it with The Practice which wasn't as strong a follow up to Sanford.

Rich Man,Poor Man debuted in 2 2hour episodes Sun and Mon 22.1/35 and 26.2/39.

ABC was on it's way with Charlie's Angels, Love Boat, Three's Company etc coming up.

[Paul Raven]

Week ##	Date	Top Program	Network
Week 01	Sep 17th, 1979	Eight is Enough	ABC
Week 02	Sep 24th, 1979	Three’s Company	ABC
Week 03	Oct 01st, 1979	Alice	CBS
Week 04	Oct 08th, 1979	SPORTS: World Series, Game 2	ABC
Week 05	Oct 15th, 1979	SPORTS: World Series, Game 7	ABC
Week 06	Oct 22nd, 1979	60 Minutes	CBS
Week 07	Oct 29th, 1979	MOVIE: Jaws	ABC
Week 08	Nov 05th, 1979	60 Minutes	CBS
Week 09	Nov 12th, 1979	60 Minutes	CBS
Week 10	Nov 19th, 1979	MOVIE: Smokey and the Bandit	NBC
Week 11	Nov 26th, 1979	Three’s Company	ABC
Week 12	Dec 03rd, 1979	Alice	CBS
Week 13	Dec 10th, 1979	60 Minutes	CBS
Week 14	Dec 17th, 1979	Three’s Company	ABC
Week 15	Dec 24th, 1979	60 Minutes	CBS
Week 16	Dec 31st, 1979	SPORTS: NFL Championship Post-Game	CBS
Week 17	Jan 07th, 1980	The Dukes of Hazzard	CBS
Week 18	Jan 14th, 1980	SPORTS: Superbowl XIV	CBS
Week 19	Jan 21st, 1980	The Dukes of Hazzard	CBS
Week 20	Jan 28th, 1980	60 Minutes	CBS
Week 21	Feb 04th, 1980	Dallas	CBS
Week 22	Feb 11th, 1980	Three’s Company	ABC
Week 23	Feb 18th, 1980	MOVIE: Harper Valley PTA	NBC
Week 24	Feb 25th, 1980	Alice	CBS
Week 25	Mar 03rd, 1980	60 Minutes	CBS
Week 26	Mar 10th, 1980	60 Minutes	CBS
Week 27	Mar 17th, 1980	Dallas	CBS
Week 28	Mar 24th, 1980	Flo and M*A*S*H (tie)	CBS
Week 29	Mar 31st, 1980	M*A*S*H	CBS
Week 30	Apr 07th, 1980	TELEFILM: Kenny Rogers as The Gambler	CBS
Week 31	Apr 14th, 1980	SPECIAL: The Academy Awards	ABC
*Regular Season Ends*
Week 32	Apr 21st, 1980	60 Minutes	CBS
Week 33	Apr 28th, 1980	The Dukes of Hazzard	CBS
Week 34	May 05th, 1980	60 Minutes	CBS
Week 35	May 12th, 1980	Miss USA Pageant	CBS
Week 36	May 19th, 1980	M*A*S*H	CBS
Week 37	May 26th, 1980	20/20	ABC
Week 38	Jun 02nd, 1980	60 Minutes	CBS
Week 39	Jun 09th, 1980	The Jeffersons	CBS
Week 40	June 16th, 1980	The Jeffersons	CBS
Week 41	June 23rd, 1980	M*A*S*H	CBS
Week 42	June 30th, 1980	M*A*S*H and Three’s Company (tie)	CBS/ABC
Week 43	Jul 07th, 1980	All-Star Baseball Game	ABC
Week 44	Jul 14th, 1980	The Jeffersons	CBS
Week 45	Jul 21st, 1980	60 Minutes	CBS
Week 46	Jul 28th, 1980	The Jeffersons	CBS
Week 47	Aug 04th, 1980	Barbara Walters’ Summer Special	ABC
Week 48	Aug 11th, 1980	60 Minutes	CBS
Week 49	Aug 18th, 1980	Circus of the Stars	CBS
Week 50	Aug 25th, 1980	M*A*S*H and Dallas (tie)	CBS
Week 51	Sep 01st, 1980	Miss America Pageant	NBC
Week 52	Sep 08th, 1980	TELEFILM: The Women’s Room	ABC

Edited May 9, 2022 by Paul Raven

[Khan]

I wonder what was going on the week "Eight is Enough" hit no. 1, lol.

[Soapsuds]

Merle and Susan move up their wedding date and it falls on the same day David and Janet have picked

[Soapsuds]

May 15-21 1978

 

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[Soapsuds]

1977-1978 season

 

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[Paul Raven]

1978/79 Series rankings.

I. Laverne and Shirley (ABC) 30.8 48

2. Threes Company (ABC) 30.2 45

3. Happy Days (ABC) 29.1 48

4. Mork & Mindy (ABC) 28.5 48

5. Angie (ABC) 27.1 42

6. Ropers (ABC) 25.6 42

7. M'A'S'H (CBS) 25.4 37

8. 60 Minutes (CBS) 25.4 41

9. All in the Family (CBS) 25.2 38

10. Charlie's Angels (ABC) 25.0 38

11. Taxi (ABC) 24.9 38

12. Eight is Enough (ABC) 24.9 39

13. Alice (CBS) 23.8 36

14. Little House on the Prairie (NBC) 23.3 35

15. Barney Miller (ABC) 22.8 36

16. ABC Sunday Night Movie 22.7 36

17. Love Boat (ABC) 22.1 38

18. One Day at a Time (CBS) 21.6 32

19. Soap (ABC) 21.6 34

20. Dukes of Hazzard (CBS) 21.1 35

21. NBC Monday Night Movies 21.0 32

22. Fantasy Island (ABC) 20.8 38

23. Vegas (ABC) 20.7 35

24. CBS Sunday Night Movie 20.7 34

25. Stockard Channing & Friends (CBS) 20.7 32

26. Barnaby Jones ICBS) 20.5 36

27. 13 Queens Blvd. (ABC) 20.5 36

28. Centennial (NBC) 20.3 30

29. CHiPs (NBC) 20.1 36

30. What's Happening (ABC) 20.1 33

31. NFL Monday Night Football (ABC) 20.0

33 32. Dif'rent Strokes (NBC) 20.0 34

33. Lou Grant (CBS) 19.6 31

34. Battlestar: Galaclica (ABC) 19.6 30

35. WKRP in Cincinnati (CBS) 19.5 29

36. Starsky and Hutch (ABC) 19.0 32

37. Waltons (CBS) 19.0 30

38. ABC Friday Night Movie 19.0 33

39. Sunday Big Event (NBC) 18.9 29

40. Dallas (CBS) 18.4 32

41. Bad News Bears (CBS) 18.4 34

42. MacKenzies- Paradise Cove (ABC) 18.2 30

43. White Shadow (CBS) 181 28

44. Hawaii Five -O (CBS) 18.0 29

45. Incredible Hulk (CBS) 18.0 30

46. Dear Detective (CBS) 18.0 30

47. How the West Was Won (ABC) 17.9 27

48. Salvage 1 (ABC) 17.7 26

49. Jeffersons (CBS) 17.4 28

50. Quincy (NBC) 17.4 27

51. CBS Tuesday Night Movies 17.3 27

52. Family (CBS) 17.1 30

53. Kaz (CBS) 17.0 28

54. Mary Tyler Moore Hour (CBS) 17.0 29

55. Wonderful World of Disney (NBC) 16.9 27

56. People (CBS) 16.8 25

57. B.J. and the Bear (NBC) 16.8 29

58. Rockford Files (NBC) 16.6 29

59. Wednesday Movie of the Week (NBC) 16.5 26

60. Wonder Woman (CBS) 16.5 28

61. Tuesday Big Event 16.3 26

62. Donny and Marie (ABC) 16.3 28.

63. CBS Saturday Night Movie 16.2 28

64. Mary (CBS)

65. Eddie Capra Mysteries (NBC) 16.1 16.0 25 AP 28

66. CBS Wednesday Night Movie 15.8 25

67. Joe & Valerie (NBC) 15.7 24

68. Hello, Larry (NBC) 15.7 26

69. Supertrain (NBC) 15.7 25

70. Carter Country (ABC) 15.6 27

71. NBC Saturday Night Movies 15.3 29

72. Dick Clark's Live Wednesday (NBC) 15.3 24

73. Flatbush (CBS) 15.2 22

74. In the Beginning (CBS) 15.1 24

75. Flying High (CBS) 15.1 27

76. Billy (CBS) 15.0 24

77. Miss Winslow & Son (CBS) 14.9 24

78. Welcome Back, Kotter (ABC) 148 26

79. Delta House (ABC) 14.8 26

80. Osmond Family Show (ABC) 14.5 23

81. NBC Novels for Television 14.4 24

82. Mrs. Colombo (NBC) 14.4 26

83. CBS Friday Night Movie 14.3 23

84. Duke (NBC) 14.3 25

85. ABC Monday Night Movie 14.2 24

86. Doctors Private Lives (ABC) 14.1 26

87. Grandpa Goes to Washington (NBC) 13.8 22

88. Operation Petticoat (ABC) 13.7 22

89. Turnabout (NBC) 13.3 22

90. Sword of Justice (NBC) 13.2 25

91. Good Times (CBS) 13.0 23

92. Hardy Boys Mysteries (ABC) 13.0 21

93. Brothers and Sisters (NBC) 13.0 22

94. Cliffhangers (NBC) 12.8 20

95. Rhoda (CBS) 12.7 24

96. Lifeline (NBC) 12.6 22

97. Friends (ABC) 12.5 22

98. Paper Chase (CBS) 12.4 20

99. David Cassidy -Undercover (NBC) 12.1 21

100. Married: The First Year (CBS) 12.0 19

101. Waverly Wonders (NBC) 11.9 23

102. Whoa Watching the Kids (NBC) 11.9 21

103. Lucan (ABC) 11.9 18

104. Makin It (ABC) 11.9 20

105. Apple Pie (ABC) 11.6 22

106. Project U.F.O. (NBC) 11.4 18

107. American Girls (CBS) 11.0 20

108. Sweepstakes (NBC) 11.0 19

109. W.E.B. (NBC) 10.1 18

110. Weekend (NBC) 10.0 17

111. Whodunnit (NBC) 10.0 18

112. Highcliffe Manor (NBC) 9.5 17

113. Little Women (NBC) 8.9 13

114. Harris and Company (NBC) 7.6 12

 

The specials Rank Rating/Share

1. Ali - Spinks fight (ABC) 37.2 61

2. Rocky (CBS) 36.9 52

3. World Series Game Six (NBC) 35.9 54

4. Academy Awards (ABC) 34.6 63

5. World Series Game Í (NBC) 33.1 51

6. World Series Game Ill (NBC) ' 32.9 54

7. Roots: Next Generations (ABC) 32.7 50 ¡

8. World Series Game II (NBC) 32.2 50 C.

9. Roofs: Next Generations (ABC) 31.8 48

10. Super Bowl XIII Post (NBC) 31.7 47

11. Roots: Next Generations (ABC) 31.7 48

12. Threes Company (ABC) 30.9 49

13. Rescue from Gilligans Island (NBC) 30.2 52

14. Roots: Next Generations (ABC) 29.5 41

15. Pearl (ABC) 29.4 47

16. MacKenzies -Paradise Cove (ABC) 29.4 47

17. Bob Hope -Salute/World Series (NBC) 29.1 42

18. Roots: Next Generations (ABC) 28.9 47

19. Gone With the Wind Part II (CBS) 28.8 40

20. Roots: Next Generations (ABC) 28.6 40

21. Delta House (ABC) 28.3 41

22. Threes Company Special (ABC) 28.2 40

23. Circus of the Stars (CBS) 28.0 42

[Soapsuds]

Week ending November 18, 1979

 

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[Paul Raven]

All of CBS Sunday shows in the Top 10.

ABC Tuesday 3 in the Top 10 and the other 3 Top 20.

NBC Monday Little House/Movie Top 20.

[Soapsuds]

Sunday night was must see tv on CBS. I loved the lineup!

[Paul Raven]

The thing was those 4 sitcoms had been around for years and in the case of The Jeffersons in particular had been shunted around the schedule in many timeslots and was at one point #49 for the season.

Then CBS put them all together and it was ratings gold. The problem after a few seasons was that there was no room for fresh shows and they began to age.

The Sunday sitcom lineup was dying and Murder She wrote took the first hour and by next season Crazy Like a Fox the second hour and CBS Sunday sitcoms were history.

[kalbir]

The CBS Sunday sitcom block of 8:30 pm One Day at a Time, 9 pm Alice, 9:30 pm The Jeffersons was a success in 1979/80, 1980/81, 1981/82. Those years also saw Alice and The Jeffersons earn their highest finishes: Alice 4th, tied with M*A*S*H, in 1979/80 and The Jeffersons 3rd in 1980/81.

The block began weakening in 1982/83, when new sitcom Gloria replaced Alice in the lineup and One Day at a Time at 8:30 pm, The Jeffersons moved up to 9 pm, and One Day at a Time moved down to 9:30 pm. Alice was initially moved to Wednesday 9 pm then to Monday 9 pm. Gloria finished 18th but was still cancelled, The Jeffersons dropped from 3rd to 12th, tied with the first season of Newhart, and One Day at a Time dropped from 10th to 16th. Alice dropped from 5th to below the Top 30. 

1983/84 CBS moves Alice back to Sunday, this time at 8 pm, One Day at a Time moves back up to 8:30 pm, The Jeffersons remains at 9 pm. Midseason Alice is moved to 9:30 pm and One Day at a Time is moved to Wednesday 8 pm. The Jeffersons dropped to 19th. One Day at a Time fell out of the Top 30 and was cancelled. Alice moved up to 25th, tied with CBS Tuesday Movie, Webster, Knight Rider, Hardcastle and McCormick. 1983/84 also saw the weakening of the lead out to the Sunday comedy block Trapper John, M.D.; it was a Top 20 show in its first four seasons (peak was 15th in 1981/82) but it fell from 18th in 1982/83 to 30th in 1983/84. 

1984/85 was the end of the Sunday comedy block. New drama Murder, She Wrote took over 8 pm and finished at 8th, the highest rated new scripted series that season not named The Cosby Show. The Jeffersons and Alice were at 9 pm/9:30 pm until midseason, and then got moved to Tuesday 8 pm/8:30 pm, where they were clobbered by The A-Team and then cancelled. New drama Crazy Like a Fox premiered midseason Sunday 9 pm and benefitted from the Murder, She Wrote lead in to finish 10th, tied with Falcon Crest. Unfortunately, Trapper John, M.D. did not retain much of the Murder, She Wrote and Crazy Like a Fox lead ins and it finished at 29th. 

I pinpoint the end of M*A*S*H in Spring 1983 and the weakening of the Sunday comedy block that same season as the start of CBS's struggle with sitcoms, and that struggle continued through the remainder of the 1980s. 

 

Edited September 17, 2022 by kalbir

[Paul Raven]

1978/79 Mini Series Ratings

1. Roots Next Generation ABC 30.1/45

2.  Pearl ABC 28.6/45

3. Roots (R) ABC 25.4/42

4. Backstairs at the White House NBC 25.0/37

5. Ike ABC 24.7/40

6. Little Women NBC 22.6/34

7. The Word CBS 21.2/33

8. Jesus of Nazareth (R) NBC 21.2/33

9. The Chisolms CBS 21.1/35

10. Blind Ambition CBS 20.5/34

11. The Best Place to Be NBC 20.2/34

12. A Woman Called Moses NBC 19.9/32

13. Centennial NBC 19.5/30

14. From Here to Eternity NBC 18.9/30

15. Mr Horn CBS 18.5/29

16. The Sacketts NBC 17.5/30

17. Greatest Heroes of the Bible NBC 17.4/28

18. The Critical List NBC 17.0/27

19. The Pirate CBS 15.4/25

20. Moses the Lawgiver CBS (R) 15.4/30

21. Women in White NBC 14.0/23

22. Studs Lonegan NBC 14.0/23

23. A Man Called Intrepid NBC 12.5/21

24. Hanging by a Thread NBC 12.4/21

25. The Innocent and The Damned (rpt) NBC 12.4/23

26. The Dark Secret of Harvest Home (R) NBC 10.3/18

27. Wheels NBC (R) 10.0/18

 

NBC showing the most mini series for the least return. 

The Innocent and The Damned was a new title for Aspen. Maybe they thought people would be fooled into watching a rerun.

The Wheels rerun was truncated due to dreadful ratings. Originally all 5 episodes were going to be shown, but after dire ratings for ep 1 and 2, they showed a summary of eps 3&4 before playing the final episode.