Top 100 Television Programs for 2003
By Staff -- Broadcasting & Cable, 1/5/2004
The Television Bureau of Advertising supplied this listing of television's top shows, as ranked by Nielsen Media Research, to counter cable's boast of dominance over broadcast and demonstrate broadcast's superiority. All of the top 100 are broadcast shows. In fact, the highest-ranked cable show on Nielsen's total list was No. 258; the second-highest was No. 296.
| Rank | Program (NETWORK)* | HH Rating |
| 1 | Super Bowl (ABC) | 33.14 |
| 2 | Super Bowl Post (ABC) | 23.44 |
| 3 | Academy Awards (ABC) | 20.40 |
| 4 | Fiesta Bowl (ABC) | 17.23 |
| 5 | American Idol S (Fox) | 17.22 |
| 6 | MLB ALCS 7 (Fox) | 17.15 |
| 7 | MLB NLCS 7 (Fox) | 16.94 |
| 8 | 20/20 2/6 (ABC) | 16.82 |
| 9 | Joe Millionaire S (Fox) | 16.60 |
| 10 | AFC/NFC Playoff 2 (ABC) | 16.03 |
| 11 | NFC Playoff (Fox) | 14.82 |
| 12 | Grammy Awards (CBS) | 14.67 |
| 13 | Big Fat Greek Life S (CBS) | 14.28 |
| 14 | Friends 2/6 (NBC) | 13.63 |
| 15 | AFC/NFC Showcase 2 (ABC) | 13.57 |
| 15 | World Series 4 (Fox) | 13.57 |
| 17 | NFC Wild Card Post (Fox) | 13.47 |
| 18 | Andy Griffith Reunion (CBS) | 13.46 |
| 19 | Golden Globe Awards (NBC) | 13.41 |
| 20 | Joe Millionaire (Fox) | 13.34 |
| 21 | Friends 4/24 (NBC) | 13.33 |
| 21 | CSI (CBS) | 13.33 |
| 23 | World Series 5 (Fox) | 13.21 |
| 24 | AFC Champ. Post (CBS) | 13.16 |
| 25 | Survivor: Pearl Finale (CBS) | 13.08 |
| 26 | MNF Opener (ABC) | 12.92 |
| 27 | CMA Awards (CBS) | 12.85 |
| 28 | Friends 11/20 (NBC) | 12.80 |
| 29 | American Idol Tues. (Fox) | 12.62 |
| 30 | World Series 2 (Fox) | 12.60 |
| 31 | Oscar Countdown (ABC) | 12.59 |
| 32 | NCAA Basketball Final (CBS) | 12.58 |
| 33 | World Series 3 (Fox) | 12.52 |
| 34 | American Idol Wed. (Fox) | 12.50 |
| 35 | Friends 2/13 (NBC) | 12.38 |
| 36 | Survivor: Pearl S (CBS) | 12.35 |
| 37 | Friends 5/8 (NBC) | 12.33 |
| 38 | Joe Millionaire: After (Fox) | 12.08 |
| 39 | Survivor: Pearl (CBS) | 12.07 |
| 40 | Friends 11/6 (NBC) | 12.02 |
| 41 | MLB LCS: 1 & 2 (Fox) | 11.98 |
| 42 | Friends 11/13 (NBC) | 11.94 |
| 43 | CBS at 75 S (CBS) | 11.91 |
| 44 | Fiesta Bowl Pre (ABC) | 11.88 |
| 45 | Survivor: Amazon Finale (CBS) | 11.81 |
| 46 | Trista & Ryan's Wed., 3 (ABC) | 11.79 |
| 47 | Friends 2/20 (NBC) | 11.76 |
| 47 | Emmy Awards (Fox) | 11.76 |
| 49 | Survivor: Amazon (CBS) | 11.73 |
| 50 | MLB ALCS 4 (Fox) | 11.58 |
| 51 | Friends 5/1 (NBC) | 11.57 |
| 52 | Survivor: Pearl Reunion (CBS) | 11.55 |
| 53 | Monday Night Football (ABC) | 11.48 |
| 54 | Simpsons S 2 (Fox) | 11.12 |
| 54 | Survivor: Pearl Wed. (CBS) | 11.12 |
| 56 | Will & Grace Clips (NBC) | 11.11 |
| 57 | Bachelorette: Tell All (ABC) | 11.10 |
| 58 | 2003 NFL Showcase (ABC) | 11.02 |
| 59 | Cher: Farewell Tour (NBC) | 10.98 |
| 60 | World Series 1 (Fox) | 10.91 |
| 61 | Law & Order 5/21 (NBC) | 10.83 |
| 62 | The Bachelorette (ABC) | 10.70 |
| 63 | Am. Idol Best/Worst (Fox) | 10.69 |
| 64 | World Series 6 Post (Fox) | 10.68 |
| 65 | Primetime Spec. Ed. 11/11 (ABC) | 10.64 |
| 66 | Friends (NBC) | 10.58 |
| 67 | Everybody Loves Raymond (CBS) | 10.50 |
| 68 | Law & Order 4/17 (NBC) | 10.46 |
| 69 | Friends 3/6 (NBC) | 10.44 |
| 70 | Law & Order (NBC) | 10.27 |
| 71 | American Idol: Final 2 (Fox) | 10.15 |
| 72 | MLB NLCS 1 (Fox) | 10.13 |
| 73 | Survivor: Amazon S (CBS) | 10.12 |
| 74 | Two and a Half Men (CBS) | 10.10 |
| 75 | Survivor: Amazon Reunion (CBS) | 10.08 |
| 75 | CSI: Miami (CBS) | 10.08 |
| 77 | CSI: Thanksgiving (CBS) | 10.02 |
| 78 | People's Choice Awards (CBS) | 9.96 |
| 78 | ER (NBC) | 9.96 |
| 80 | American Idol S (Fox) | 9.90 |
| 81 | Primetime Spec. Ed. 12/17 (ABC) | 9.85 |
| 82 | Movie of Week Sun. (NBC) | 9.83 |
| 83 | MLB Div NL 5 (Fox) | 9.78 |
| 84 | Movie of Week Mon. (NBC) | 9.77 |
| 85 | Orange Bowl (ABC) | 9.74 |
| 86 | State of Union Analysis (NBC) | 9.72 |
| 87 | ABC News S 6/8 (ABC) | 9.61 |
| 88 | The Bachelor S 5/18 (ABC) | 9.59 |
| 89 | Survivor: Amazon S (CBS) | 9.58 |
| 90 | MLB All-Star (Fox) | 9.51 |
| 91 | Dateline: M. Jackson 2/17 (NBC) | 9.50 |
| 92 | Without a Trace (CBS) | 9.44 |
| 93 | Cold Case (CBS) | 9.41 |
| 94 | (ABC) News Special 9/16 (ABC) | 9.40 |
| 95 | Friends 3/6 (NBC) | 9.39 |
| 96 | Prelude to a Championship (CBS) | 9.31 |
| 97 | MLB NLCS 3 (Fox) | 9.30 |
| 98 | Law & Order: CI (NBC) | 9.27 |
| 99 | Sugar Bowl (ABC) | 9.22 |
| 100 | Katie at Night (NBC) | 9.21 |
| *Shows identified by date or as specials were one-time programs, programs that aired outside the regular time slot, or episodes that extended beyond regularly scheduled time periods. Source: TVB, Nielsen Media Research data through Dec. 18 |
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