Determining the popularity of a television show used to be easy. The only TV shows that were being watched were on the handful of network stations that a family had access to. At one time that was only about a dozen channels if a family lived in the right place in the United States. The popularity of a television show was determined by the Neilson ratings. These ratings were decided by groups of families that had boxes connected to their TVs that recorded what they were watching at any given time. A few thousand boxes determine how many people in the United States were watching any show.

The lack of access to different television shows meant that a popular show was measured in the tens of millions of viewers it could attract at the time it was aired on the network. It meant that to be one of the most popular shows, an audience of more than 20 million people was required for the given time that the show was scheduled. That makes it easy to determine what the most popular show was of the time.

Ties have changed and the way that people watch TV has changed. The explosion of internet TV has been taking the viewers away from the traditional network shows. The ability to record shows and watch them at a later time has made it difficult to measure how many people are watching a show. It all means that measuring what the most popular shows are today is more difficult.

Some of the most popular shows are still on network television. There are also many popular shows that people are watching through live TV streaming. As people learn how watching TV on mobile devices increased, the job of deciding what the most popular shows are will become more difficult. While that may be true, it is still possible to come up with a list of the most popular shows being watched today.

On Network Television

• The Walking Dead – This show is entering its 6^th season and has developed a following that is almost like the Zombies that are in the show. The Walking Dead is about a world that has been overtaken by Zombies and how people are trying to survive and rebuild. It has consistently been one of the highest rated shows on network television and has generated a spinoff that is a prequel to the current series.

• Game of Thrones – A cable show that has a great following for the people that enjoy watching the noble families of Westeros fight to see who will be the ruler. It also has a very strong following that refuses to miss an episode.

• Empire – This show is on traditional free network television. It follows a family that has built an empire in their record business and the fighting that they have to do to try to keep what they think they deserve.

Online Television Shows

The ability to watch your popular TV shows online streaming on different channels has allowed people to watch what they want where they want it. The problem is often finding the best content that is available online. Service such as Yip TV give people access to some great and popular programming.

• Alpha House – A series that is offered by an online streaming service that has a well-known cast including John Goodman takes viewers into the lives of politician in Washington.

• Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee – Jerry Seinfeld pitched this show to the networks only to be turned down. He took it online and found out that watching comedians get together and spend time over a cup of coffee is something that people want to watch.

• Sports – The networks will remind people that the Super Bowl is always the most watched television show every year. The ability to watch live sports from around the world through online services such as Live casino thats why sports are always one of the most popular choices.

Determining what the most popular shows are may still be a determined by how many people watch it, but thanks to the ability to steam television online and to watch programs when you want to through online streaming services and DVRs, coming up with an accurate number is not always as easy. The numbers may have to be counted in the number of views that any television show has and the numbers that will be found here could surprise many television viewers. If they look at views, they will find that people are turning to short video clips instead of full length television shows. A viral video is capable of reaching the number of viewers that network shows can only dream about.

Television viewing is changing and deciding what the most popular shows is also going to have to change. It is going to depend on how people are accessing the shows they like and the format of the popular videos or shows. The only thing is that it will continue to change. If you have a show you think should be on the list of the most popular or a method of watching shows that excites you, let us know about it.