"The Top Twenty Seventies Telecasts" 
What follows is a listing of the twenty top-rated single broadcasts from January 1970 
through December 1979 as compiled by the A.C. Nielsen Company. The average 
audience percentage rankings are based on Nielsen reports from those years. The listings 
represent only sponsored programs telecast on individual networks; no unsponsored or 
joint network telecasts are represented. RANK   PROGRAM NAME                    TELECAST DATE      NETWORK     AV. AUDIENCE %

 1.    Roots, Part 8 (conclusion)      Jan. 30, 1977        ABC        51.1
 2.    Gone With The Wind, Part 1      Nov.  7, 1976        NBC        47.7
 3.    Gone With The Wind, Part 2      Nov.  8, 1976        NBC        47.4
 4.    Super Bowl XII                  Jan. 15, 1978        NBC        47.2
 5.    Super Bowl XIII                 Jan. 21, 1979        CBS        46.9
 6.    Bob Hope Christmas Show         Jan. 15, 1970        NBC        46.6
 7.    Roots, Part 6                   Jan. 28, 1977        ABC        45.9
 8.    Roots, Part 5                   Jan. 27, 1977        ABC        45.7
 9.    Bob Hope Christmas Show         Jan. 14, 1971        NBC        45.0
10.    Roots, Part 3                   Jan. 25, 1977        ABC        44.8
11.    Super Bowl XI                   Jan.  9, 1977        NBC        44.4
12.    Super Bowl VI                   Jan. 16, 1972        CBS        44.2
13.    Roots, Part 2                   Jan. 24, 1977        ABC        44.1
14.    Roots, Part 4                   Jan. 26, 1977        ABC        43.8
15.    The 43rd Academy Awards         Apr.  7, 1970        ABC        43.4
16.    Super Bowl VII                  Jan. 14, 1973        NBC        42.7
17.    Super Bowl IX                   Jan. 12, 1975        NBC        42.4
18.    Super Bowl X                    Jan. 18, 1976        CBS        42.3
19.    Airport                         Nov. 11, 1973        ABC        42.3
20.    Love Story                      Oct.  1, 1972        ABC        42.3 
 The Most Watched Movie Telecasts of the Decade 
This list includes network prime-time feature films, both those made specifically for TV (*)
and those made for theatrical release. RANK   MOVIE                             AIR DATE

 1.    Gone With the Wind, Part 1        November 7, 1976
 2.    Gone With the Wind, Part 2        November 8, 1976
 3.    Love Story (tie)                  October 1, 1972
 3.    Airport (tie)                     November 11, 1973
 4.    The Godfather, Part 2             November 18, 1974
 5.    Jaws                              November 4, 1979
 6.    The Poseidon Adventure            October 27, 1974
 7.    True Grit                         November 12, 1972
 8.    Patton                            November 19, 1972
 9.    Jeremiah Johnson (tie)            January 18, 1976
 9.    Helter Skelter, Part 2 (tie)*     April 2, 1976
10.    Rocky (tie)                       February 4, 1979
10.    Ben-Hur (tie)                     February 14, 1971
11.    The Godfather, Part 1             November 16, 1974
12.    Little Ladies of the Night*       January 16, 1977
13.    Planet of the Apes (tie)          September 14, 1973
13.    Helter Skelter, Part 1 (tie)*     April 1, 1976
14.    Holocaust, Part 4*                April 19, 1978 
- from People Weekly Entertainment Almanac 
(Little, Brown & Co., Boston,
1996).

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