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“Bonanza” Tops Nielsen Popularity Ratings

Oct. 26, 1964 - NBC’s program “Bonanza,” the story of the Cartwright men, finished first in the Nielsen popularity ratings today. It was half a rating point ahead of the ABC’s “Bewitched,” the new situation comedy about a suburban housewitch.

ABC had the highest average rating for its major shows. The margin of leadership depended upon the method of calculation. CBS ran second and NBC third.

After “Bonanza,” which had a rating of 32.8, and “Bewitched,” with 32.3, here was the order of finish for the next eight programs:

“Gomer Pyle” (CBS), 29.5; the Yankees‐Cardinals World Series game on Oct. 11 (NBC), 29.2; “My Three Sons (ABC), 27.4; “The Fugitive” (ABC), 27.1; Dick Van Dyke (CBS), 26.9; “Petticoat Junction” (CBS), 26.1; “The Addams Family” (ABC) and “Combat!” (ABC), tied at 25.8.

If the nonrecurring World Series game were dropped from the list, the next entertainment attraction to move into the top 10 would have been Red Skelton, with 25.6.

ABC placed five shows in the top ten, CBS three, and NBC two.

A rating figure indicates the percentage of TV homes tuned to a program. The battle of fractions is important to the industry because a single rating point may represent upwards of 500,000 homes, or one million individual viewers.

The figure is also of major importance to an advertiser who calculates his expenditures on the basis of the number of prospective customers he can reach.



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