The Simpsons first season was the Fox network's first TV series to rank among a season's top 30 highest-rated shows.[1] Due to its success, the Fox network decided to switch The Simpsons timeslots in hopes that it would result in higher ratings for the lead out shows.[2] It would move from 8:00 PM on Sunday night to the same time on Thursday where it would compete with The Cosby Show, the number one show at the time.[3] Many of the producers were against the move, as The Simpsons had been in the top 10 while airing on Sunday and they felt the move would destroy its ratings.[4] Ratings wise, new episodes of The Cosby Show beat The Simpsons every time during the second season and The Simpsons eventually fell out of the top 10.[5] At the end of the season Cosby averaged as the fifth highest rated show on television while The Simpsons was 38th.[2] The show remained in its Thursday timeslot until the sixth season.[3]
The ratings for The Simpsons are split into two tables:
- Season 1-11 are ranked by households (in millions) watching the series.
- Season 12-22 are ranked by actual viewers (in millions) watching the series.
The difference between the rank from season 11 to 12 is not a reflection of a huge audience gain, but rather that the show did better in terms of actual viewers in comparison with other shows.
Season | Years | Households | Rank |
---|---|---|---|
1[n1] | 1989 - 1990 | 13.4m[1] | 30th[1] |
2[n1] | 1990 - 1991 | 12.2m[n2] | 38th[6] |
3[n1] | 1991 - 1992 | 12.0m[n3] | 33rd[7] |
4[n1] | 1992 - 1993 | 12.1m[8] | 30th[8] |
5[n1] | 1993 - 1994 | 10.5m[n4] | 53rd[9] |
6[n1] | 1994 - 1995 | 9.0m[10] | 67th[10] |
7[n1] | 1995 - 1996 | 8.0m[11] | 75th[11] |
8 | 1996 - 1997 | 8.6m[12] | 53rd[12] |
9 | 1997 - 1998 | 9.1m[13] | 32nd[13] |
10 | 1998 - 1999 | 7.9m[14] | 46th[14] |
11 | 1999 - 2000 | 8.2m[15] | 44th[15] |
Season | Years | Viewers | Rank |
---|---|---|---|
12 | 2000 - 2001 | 14.7m[16] | 21st[16] |
13 | 2001 - 2002 | 12.4m[17] | 30th[17] |
14 | 2002 - 2003 | 13.4m[18] | 25th[18] |
15 | 2003 - 2004 | 10.6m[19] | 42nd[19] |
16 | 2004 - 2005 | 9.6m[20] | 52nd[20] |
17 | 2005 - 2006 | 9.1m[21] | 62nd[21] |
18 | 2006 - 2007 | 8.6m[22] | 60th[22] |
19 | 2007 - 2008 | 8.0m[23] | 87th[23] |
20 | 2008 - 2009 | 6.9m[24] | 77th[24] |
21 | 2009 - 2010 | 7.2m[25] | 61st[25] |
22 | 2010 - 2011 | 7.3m[26] | 65th[26] |
- Notes
- Until the 1996-1997 television season, ratings were calculated over 30 weeks from September to mid April. Episodes that aired after mid April were not part of the overall average and ranking.[27]
- Season one had approximately 13.4 viewing households.[1]. Season two dropped 9%,[28] resulting in an average of approximately 12.2 million viewing households.
- Season three had an average rating of 13.0 points.[7] For the season of 1991-1992, each point represented 921,000 viewing households,[29] resulting in a total average of approximately 12.0 million viewing households.
- Season four had approximately 12.1 viewing households.[8]. Season five dropped 13%,[30] resulting in an average of approximately 10.5 million viewing households.
References
edit- ^ a b c d "Nielsen's top 50 shows". USA Today. April 18, 1990. p. 3D.
- ^ a b Daniel Cerone (September 5, 1991). "'Simpsons' steals away Cosby viewers". Los Angeles Times. p. 4.
- ^ a b Reiss, Mike (2002). Commentary for "Bart Gets an F", in The Simpsons: The Complete Second Season (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
- ^ Groening, Matt (2002). Commentary for "Bart Gets an F", in The Simpsons: The Complete Second Season (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
- ^ Jean, Al (2003). Commentary for "Homer at the Bat", in The Simpsons: The Complete Third Season (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
- ^ "Nielsen ratings". The Tampa Tribune. April 17, 1991. p. 4.
- ^ a b Gable, Donna (April 15, 1992). "CBS' historic jump". USA Today. p. 3D.
- ^ a b c "Year-end ratings". Deseret News. April 22, 1993. p. C6.
- ^ "Nielsen ratings". The Tampa Tribune. Associated Press. April 21, 1994. p. 4.
- ^ a b Pierce, Scott D. (April 19, 1995). "They're not laughing at CBS after drop from 1st to worst". Deseret News. p. C6.
- ^ a b "NBC lands 6 series in season 's top 10". Daily Breeze. May 26, 1996. p. D3.
- ^ a b Moses, Robert P. (1997). "19961997". The 1998 A & E Entertainment Almanac. Houghton Mifflin. pp. 496–515.
- ^ a b "Final Ratings for '97-'98 TV Season". San Francisco Chronicle. May 25, 1998. p. E4.
- ^ a b "Nielsen rankings for 1998-99". San Francisco Chronicle. May 28, 1999. p. C5.
- ^ a b "Nielsen rankings for 1999-2000". San Francisco Chronicle. May 26, 2000. p. C17.
- ^ a b "The Bitter End". Entertainment Weekly. June 1, 2001. Retrieved September 10, 2011.
- ^ a b "How did your favorite show rate?". USA Today. May 28, 2002. Retrieved September 10, 2011.
- ^ a b Sepinwall, Alan; Matt Zoller Seitz (May 29, 2003). "Nielsen numbers". The Star-Ledger. p. 31.
- ^ a b "Season to date program ratings". ABC Medianet. June 2, 2004. Archived from the original on February 8, 2007. Retrieved September 10, 2011.
- ^ a b "Season program ratings". ABC Medianet. June 1, 2005. Archived from the original on March 10, 2007. Retrieved September 10, 2011.
- ^ a b "Season program ratings". ABC Medianet. May 31, 2006. Archived from the original on March 10, 2007. Retrieved September 10, 2011.
- ^ a b "Season program ratings". Hollywood Reporter. May 25, 2007. Archived from the original on January 29, 2010. Retrieved September 12, 2011.
- ^ a b "Season program ratings". ABC Medianet. May 28, 2008. Retrieved September 10, 2011.
- ^ a b "Season program ratings". ABC Medianet. May 19, 2009. Retrieved September 10, 2011.
- ^ a b Andreeva, Nellie (May 27, 2010). "Full Series Rankings For The 2009-10 Broadcast Season". Deadline.com. Retrieved September 10, 2011.
- ^ a b Andreeva, Nellie (May 27, 2011). "Full 2010-2011 TV Season Series Rankings". Deadline.com. Retrieved September 10, 2011.
- ^ Storm, Jonathan (May 31, 1997). "The big three networks took a big ratings hit this season". Charleston Gazette. p. P6B.
- ^ "Network series take beatings in ratings". Tulsa World. April 23, 1991. p. 2C.
- ^ Williams, Scott (April 17, 1992). "CBS toasts its win of season ratings". St. Petersburg Times. p. 17.
- ^ Jicha, Tom (April 20, 1994). "'Home Improvement improves to no. 1 spot". Sun-Sentinel. p. 1E.