Top-rated United States television programs of 1997–98

This table displays the top-rated primetime television series of the 1997–98 season as measured by Nielsen Media Research.

Rank	Program	Network	Viewers (in millions)
1	Seinfeld	NBC	34.1
2	ER		30.2
3	Veronica's Closet		24.4
4	Friends		24.0
5	Touched by an Angel	CBS	21.8
6	Monday Night Football	ABC	21.0
7	Union Square	NBC	19.9
8	60 Minutes	CBS	19.8
9	CBS Sunday Movie	CBS	19.4
10	Home Improvement	ABC	18.4
11	The X-Files	FOX	17.1
12	Just Shoot Me!	NBC	17.0
13	The Drew Carey Show	ABC	16.7
14	Frasier	NBC	16.7
15	King of the Hill	FOX	16.3
16	Dateline NBC — Monday	NBC	15.4
17	Dateline NBC — Tuesday	NBC	15.3
18	The Simpsons	FOX	15.3
19	NYPD Blue	ABC	15.0
20	20/20 — Friday	ABC	15.0
21	Walker, Texas Ranger	CBS	14.4
22	NBC Sunday Night Movie	NBC	14.2
23	Primetime Live	ABC	14.2
24	Law & Order	NBC	14.1
25	Dharma & Greg	ABC	13.9
26	Diagnosis: Murder	CBS	13.9
27	20/20 — Monday	ABC	13.9
28	Cosby	CBS	13.8
29	Soul Man	ABC	13.6
30	Hiller and Diller	ABC	13.5

References

Brooks, Tim; Marsh, Earle (2007). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946-Present (Ninth Edition). Ballantine Books. p. 1695. ISBN 978-0-345-49773-4.
"What ranked and what tanked". Entertainment Weekly Published in issue No. 434 May 29, 1998. May 29, 1998. Archived from the original on October 13, 2019. Retrieved October 11, 2021.

v t e 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