The television industry is driven by the Nielsen Ratings, provided by Nielsen Media Research. Ratings determine how much a network can charge for ads aired during commercial breaks. Every week, a list of television programs on each network is compiled, with the programs ranked by rating. At the end of every television season another ranking is compiled, with the programs once again ranked by rating, but for the entire season.
Suprisingly, M*A*S*H never once reached the top spot during any of its eleven seasons. The first season, from 1972-1973, ranked a low 46th in the ratings and the show was nearly cancelled. The following season, however, it skyrocketed to fourth in the ratings and never fell out of the top twenty, only once falling out of the top ten. The eleventh and final season was the third highest-rated show of the 1982-1983 television season, the closest the series ever came to the number one spot.
Additionally, the show was rarely the highest rated television program of any given week. It did, however, often rank in the top five, top ten, or top fifteen, depending on the competition. As an example, here are the top fifteen programs for the week of February 11th, 1980 (the television week runs Monday through Sunday) when "Goodbye, Cruel World" originally aired:
| Rank | Program | Network |
| 01 | Three's Company | ABC |
| 02 | Happy Days | ABC |
| 03 | M*A*S*H | CBS |
| 04 | Winter Olympics (Sat.) | ABC |
| 05 | Little House on the Prairie | NBC |
| 06 | Dallas | CBS |
| 07 | Goodtime Girls | ABC |
| 08 | Dukes of Hazzard | CBS |
| 09 | The Deep (Part 2) | ABC |
| 10 | Real People | NBC |
| 11 | 60 Minutes | CBS |
| 12 | Winter Olympics (Fri.) | ABC |
| 13 | House Calls | CBS |
| 14 | CHiPs | NBC |
| 15 | Winter Olympics (Wed.) | ABC |
| Source: The New York Times | ||
It is interesting to note -- and a credit to the quality and popularity of M*A*S*H -- that the show was regularly ranking within the top ten during its eighth season. And it kept going strong for another two years.
The following lists are compiled primarily from The New York Times and backed up whenever possible by another source. Many gaps remain, unfortunately, as I have found little rating/ranking information prior to Season Seven and just as little for Season Eleven. If anyone can provide me with any rating/ranking information that adds to or corrects these lists, please e-mail me.
Season Seven |
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| Airdate | Episode Title | Rank |
| 09/18/1978 | Commander Pierce | -- |
| 09/25/1978 | Peace On Us | -- |
| 10/02/1978 | Lil | -- |
| 10/09/1978 | Our Finest Hour | -- |
| 10/16/1978 | The Billfold Syndrome | -- |
| 10/23/1978 | None Like it Hot | -- |
| 10/30/1978 | They Call the Wind Korea | 6th |
| 11/06/1978 | Major Ego | 9th |
| 11/13/1978 | Baby, it's Cold Outside | 11th |
| 11/20/1978 | Point of View | 9th |
| 11/27/1978 | Dear Comrade | 6th |
| 12/04/1978 | Out of Gas | 8th |
| 12/11/1978 | An Eye for a Tooth | 5th |
| 12/18/1978 | Dear Sis | 3rd |
| 01/01/1979 | B.J. Papa San | 9th |
| 01/08/1979 | Inga | 8th |
| 01/15/1979 | The Price | 9th |
| 01/22/1979 | The Young And The Restless | 8th |
| 01/29/1979 | Hot Lips is Back in Town | 13th |
| 02/05/1979 | C*A*V*E | 9th |
| 02/14/1979 | Rally Round the Flagg, Boys | -- |
| 02/19/1979 | Preventive Medicine | -- |
| 02/27/1979 | A Night at Rosie's | 11th |
| 03/05/1979 | Ain't Love Grand | 9th |
| 03/12/1979 | The Party | 9th |
Season Eight |
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| Airdate | Episode Title | Rank |
| 09/17/1979 | Too Many Cooks | 11th |
| 09/24/1979 | Are You Now, Margaret? | 5th |
| 10/01/1979 | Guerilla My Dreams | -- |
| 10/08/1979 | Good-Bye Radar (Part 1) | 2nd |
| 10/15/1979 | Good-Bye Radar (Part 2) | 3rd |
| 10/22/1979 | Period of Adjustment | 8th |
| 10/29/1979 | Nurse Doctor | 4th |
| 11/05/1979 | Private Finance | -- |
| 11/12/1979 | Mr. and Mrs. Who? | 12th |
| 11/19/1979 | The Yalu Brick Road | 14th |
| 11/26/1979 | Life Time | 3rd |
| 12/03/1979 | Dear Uncle Abdul | -- |
| 12/10/1979 | Captain's Outrageous | 8th |
| 12/17/1979 | Stars and Stripes | 5th |
| 12/31/1979 | Yessir, That's Our Baby | -- |
| 01/07/1980 | Bottle Fatigue | 7th |
| 01/14/1980 | Heal Thyself | 5th |
| 01/21/1980 | Old Soldiers | 4th |
| 01/28/1980 | Morale Victory | 6th |
| 02/04/1980 | Lend a Hand | 10th |
| 02/11/1980 | Goodbye, Cruel World | 3rd |
| 02/18/1980 | Dreams | 10th |
| 03/03/1980 | War Co-Respondent | 2nd |
| 03/10/1980 | Back Pay | 3rd |
| 03/24/1980 | April Fools | 1st |
Season Nine |
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| Airdate | Episode Title | Rank |
| 11/17/1980 | The Best of Enemies | 14th |
| 11/24/1980 | Letters | 5th |
| 12/01/1980 | Cementing Relationships | 4th |
| 12/08/1980 | Father's Day | 3rd |
| 12/15/1980 | Death Takes A Holiday | 4th |
| 12/29/1980 | A War For All Seasons | 6th |
| 01/05/1981 | Your Retention Please | 5th |
| 01/12/1981 | Tell It To The Marines | 6th |
| 01/19/1981 | Taking The Fifth | 4th |
| 01/26/1981 | Operation Friendship | 7th |
| 02/02/1981 | No Sweat | 4th |
| 02/09/1981 | Depressing News | 6th |
| 02/16/1981 | No Laughing Matter | 5th |
| 02/23/1981 | Oh, How We Danced | 4th |
| 03/02/1981 | Bottoms Up | 1st |
| 03/09/1981 | The Red/White Blues | 7th |
| 03/16/1981 | Bless You, Hawkeye | 2nd |
| 04/06/1981 | Blood Brothers | 10th |
| 04/13/1981 | The Foresight Saga | -- |
| 05/05/1981 | The Life You Save | 2nd |
Season Ten |
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| Airdate | Episode Title | Rank |
| 10/26/1981 | That's Show Biz | 4th |
| 11/02/1981 | Identity Crisis | 9th |
| 11/09/1981 | Rumor At The Top | -- |
| 11/16/1981 | Give 'em Hell, Hawkeye | 9th |
| 11/23/1981 | Wheelers and Dealers | 12th |
| 11/30/1981 | Communication Breakdown | 5th |
| 12/07/1981 | Snap Judgement (Part 1) | -- |
| 12/14/1981 | Snappier Judgement (Part 2) | -- |
| 12/28/1981 | 'Twas the Day After Christmas | 4th |
| 01/04/1982 | Follies of the Living - Concerns of the Dead | 9th |
| 01/11/1982 | The Birthday Girls | 9th |
| 01/18/1982 | Blood and Guts | -- |
| 02/01/1982 | A Holy Mess | 11th |
| 02/08/1982 | The Tooth Shall Set You Free | -- |
| 02/15/1982 | Pressure Points | -- |
| 02/22/1982 | Where There's A Will, There's A Way | 7th |
| 03/01/1982 | Promotion Commotion | -- |
| 03/15/1982 | Heroes | -- |
| 03/22/1982 | Sons and Bowlers | -- |
| 04/05/1982 | Picture This | -- |
| 04/12/1982 | That Darn Kid | 1st |
Season Eleven |
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| Airdate | Episode Title | Rank |
| 10/25/1982 | Hey, Look Me Over | 3rd |
| 11/01/1982 | Trick or Treatment | -- |
| 11/08/1982 | Foreign Affairs | -- |
| 11/15/1982 | The Joker is Wild | -- |
| 11/22/1982 | Who Knew? | -- |
| 11/28/1982 | Bombshells | -- |
| 12/06/1982 | Settling Debts | -- |
| 12/13/1982 | The Moon is Not Blue | -- |
| 12/20/1982 | Run For the Money | -- |
| 12/27/1982 | U.N., the Night and the Music | -- |
| 01/10/1983 | Strange Bedfellows | -- |
| 01/24/1983 | Say No More | 5th |
| 02/07/1983 | Friends and Enemies | -- |
| 02/14/1983 | Give and Take | -- |
| 02/21/1983 | As Time Goes By | -- |
| 02/28/1983 | Goodbye, Farewell and Amen | 1st |
References:
- Brooks, Tim, and Earle F. Marsh. The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows: 1946-Present. Ballantine Books; 8th edition.
- Eliot, Marc. Televisions: One Season in American Television. St. Martins Press: 1983.
- Herz, Peggy. All About M*A*S*H. Scholastic Books: 1972.
- The New York Times
- TV Guide