Top-rated United States television programs of 1996–97

This table displays the top-rated primetime television series of the 1996–97 season as measured by Nielsen Media Research.^[1]

Rank	Program	Network	Rating
1	ER	NBC	21.2
2	Seinfeld		20.5
3	Suddenly Susan		17.0
4	Friends		16.8
4	The Naked Truth		16.8
6	Fired Up		16.5
7	Monday Night Football	ABC	16.0
8	The Single Guy	NBC	14.1
9	Home Improvement	ABC	14.0
10	Touched by an Angel	CBS	13.6
11	60 Minutes	CBS	13.3
12	20/20	ABC	12.8
13	NYPD Blue	ABC	12.5
14	CBS Sunday Movie	CBS	12.1
15	Primetime Live	ABC	11.9
16	Frasier	NBC	11.8
17	Spin City	ABC	11.7
18	NBC Sunday Movie	NBC	11.5
18	The Drew Carey Show	ABC	11.5
20	Dateline NBC — Tuesday	NBC	11.4
21	Cosby	CBS	11.2
21	The X-Files	FOX	11.2
23	Walker, Texas Ranger	CBS	11.0
	Mad About You	NBC
	Caroline in the City
	NBC Monday Movie
27	Law & Order		10.8
27	3rd Rock from the Sun		10.8
29	Ellen	ABC	10.6
30	Chicago Hope	CBS	10.5
	Dateline NBC — Friday	NBC
	Cybill	CBS

References

^ Brooks, Tim; Marsh, Earle (2007). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946-Present (Ninth Edition). Ballantine Books. p. 1694. ISBN 978-0-345-49773-4.

v t Top-rated United States television programs by season
Nielsen ratings
1950s	1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60
1960s	1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70
1970s	1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80
1980s	1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90
1990s	1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000
2000s	2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10
2010s	2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19