'Friends' Finale Places 4th
Posted: Fri May 07, 2004 5:46 pm
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtm ... ID=5078274
'Friends' Finale Draws 51 Million Viewers
By Steve Gorman
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - More than 51 million viewers tuned in to see Ross and Rachel get back together on the final episode of "Friends" as U.S. television's top-rated comedy ended its 10-year run on NBC, preliminary ratings issued on Friday show.
It was the second-biggest TV audience this year behind the 89.6 million viewers posted by the Feb. 1 Super Bowl telecast and the most watched non-sports program since the August 2000 finale of CBS's first "Survivor," which drew 51.7 million.
Measured another way, the highly promoted, hourlong "Friends" finale accounted for more than half of all U.S. households watching television from 9 to 10 p.m. on Thursday.
While at the upper end of NBC's expectations, the "Friends" farewell audience on Thursday, 51.1 million viewers, fell short of the series' all-time high of 52.9 million for the post-Super Bowl episode of Jan. 28, 1996, NBC said.
As big-event TV swan songs go, "Friends" ranks fourth in total viewership. The 1983 conclusion to "M*A*S*H," the single most watched U.S. telecast ever with 106 million viewers, stands as the mother of all finales, followed by the 1993 last call for "Cheers" (80.4 million viewers) and the 1998 "Seinfeld" send-off (76.3 million), both on NBC.
Still, the highly anticipated 236th and final "Friends" episode capped months of media hype that helped drive its advertising rates to a Super Bowl-sized average of $2 million for each 30-second spot, a new sitcom record.
Close the polls folks, the numbers are in. 4th place overall, not too shabby.
'Friends' Finale Draws 51 Million Viewers
By Steve Gorman
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - More than 51 million viewers tuned in to see Ross and Rachel get back together on the final episode of "Friends" as U.S. television's top-rated comedy ended its 10-year run on NBC, preliminary ratings issued on Friday show.
It was the second-biggest TV audience this year behind the 89.6 million viewers posted by the Feb. 1 Super Bowl telecast and the most watched non-sports program since the August 2000 finale of CBS's first "Survivor," which drew 51.7 million.
Measured another way, the highly promoted, hourlong "Friends" finale accounted for more than half of all U.S. households watching television from 9 to 10 p.m. on Thursday.
While at the upper end of NBC's expectations, the "Friends" farewell audience on Thursday, 51.1 million viewers, fell short of the series' all-time high of 52.9 million for the post-Super Bowl episode of Jan. 28, 1996, NBC said.
As big-event TV swan songs go, "Friends" ranks fourth in total viewership. The 1983 conclusion to "M*A*S*H," the single most watched U.S. telecast ever with 106 million viewers, stands as the mother of all finales, followed by the 1993 last call for "Cheers" (80.4 million viewers) and the 1998 "Seinfeld" send-off (76.3 million), both on NBC.
Still, the highly anticipated 236th and final "Friends" episode capped months of media hype that helped drive its advertising rates to a Super Bowl-sized average of $2 million for each 30-second spot, a new sitcom record.
Close the polls folks, the numbers are in. 4th place overall, not too shabby.
