Classic TV Raitings and Rankings: 1974-75

ALL IN THE FAMILY is the #1 program on TV for the fourth straight seasons and  tops I LOVE LUCY, which only had three straight seasons at #1, for the most by a sitcom. This fourth season also ties the comedy with GUNSMOKE, which was #1 from 1957 to 1961.

On thing I do find odd about this season was what CBS did in the off season. Despite being the #1 network, the did a major revamping of the schedule. MAUDE move to Mondays to fill the spot left open from LUCY leaving and new comedy RHODA was the lead out. GOOD TIMES was moved to MAUDE's old Tuesday spot, from Fridays. M*A*S*H also found a new home on Tuesdays to make room for the new PAUL SANDS comedy, then eventually the hit series THE JEFFERSONS, on Saturdays. BARNABY JONES, a top 20 series, was moved to tuesdays and dropped out of the top 30. KOJAK, previously at #7, moved to Sundays and moved MANNIX back one hour. With SONNY & CHER splitting up, the new series CHER didn't get their old time slot, but now leads off Sunday nights, which would go head-to-head with a half hour of SONNY's new series, on ABC.

Of the returning series, four of the five from that classic Saturday night line up are in tact, GUNSMOKE, MEDICAL CENTER, THE WALTONS and CANNON kept their time slots from the season before. Everything else is either new or had been moved.

CBS still dominated the chart. 8 of the top 10 - 11 of the top 20 - and 19 of the top 30 programs. NBC collected 8 top 30 programs (including the #2 and #3 overall), leaving just three spots for ABC.

Top 30 Network Programs by household ratings
(Households with TVs - 68.50 million)

1. 30.2 - All In The Family (CBS)
2. 29.6 - Sanford and Son (NBC)
3. 28.5 - Chico and the Man (NBC)
4. 27.6 - The Jeffersons (CBS)
5. 27.4 - M*A*S*H (CBS)
6. 26.3 - Rhoda (CBS)
7. 25.8 - Good Times (CBS)
8. 25.5 - The Waltons (CBS)
9. 24.9 - Maude (CBS)
10. 24.8 - Hawaii Five-0 (CBS)
11. 24.0 - The Mary Tyler Moore Show (CBS)
12. 23.7 - The Rockford Files (NBC)
13. 23.5 - Little House on the Prairie (NBC)
14. 23.3 - Kojak (CBS) 
15. 22.8 - Police Woman (NBC)
16. 22.6 - S.W.A.T. (ABC)
17. 22.4 - The Bob Newhart Show (CBS)
17. 20.4 - The Carol Burnett Show (CBS)
19. 22.0 - The Wonderful World of Disney (NBC)
19. 22.0 - The Rookies (ABC)
21. 21.6 - Mannix (CBS)
21. 21.6 - Cannon (CBS)
23. 21.3 - The Streets of San Francisco (ABC)
23. 21.3 - Cher (CBS)
23. 21.3 - NBC Sunday Mystery Movie (NBC) 
26. 20.7 - Tony Orlando and Dawn (CBS)
26. 20.7 - Paul Sand in Friends and Lovers (CBS)
28. 20.6 - Medical Center (CBS)
29. 20.5 - Gunsmoke (CBS)
30. 20.0 - Emergency! (NBC)