1992, The Redskins defeated the Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl XXVI, the Seinfeld episode “The Contest” airs, SciFi Channel launched with a broadcast of Star Wars, Cartoon Network launches in the US, Barney & Friends, Melrose Place and Dateline NBC all premiere, Jay Leno becomes host of the Tonight Show, and these were the top 20 prime time shows for the 1991-92 season:

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1982, AT&T agrees to break itself up, the 49ers beat the Bengals in Super Bowl 16, the Weather Channel airs for the very first time on cable, the first compact discs (CDs) appear in Germany, Cal Ripken plays in the *first* game of his record breaking string, Knight Rider makes its first appearance in the film Knight of the Phoenix, the Toyota Camry was first introduced, I graduated from college and these were the top 20 prime time shows for the 1981-82 season.

For a bit of perspective, the top rated show this season, Tuesday’s American Idol, Season To Date HH rating is 16.1 and its share is 24.

A few things jump right out at me. NBC didn’t have a single show. 60 Minutes equals TV longevity. A regular prime time movie was #11, now primetime movies are consigned to throw-away time. There were twelve sitcoms out of twenty.

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