| RANK | SHOW | NETWORK |
ESTIMATED AUDIENCE |
| 1. | I Love Lucy |
CBS |
15,288,000 |
| 2. | Dragnet | NBC | 13,832,000 |
| 3. | Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts | CBS | 11,336,000 |
| 4. | You Bet Your Life | NBC | 11,336,000 |
| 5. | The Milton Berle Show | NBC | 10,452,000 |
|
6. |
Arthur Godfrey and His Friends | CBS | 10,114,000 |
|
7. |
Ford Theatre | NBC | 10,088,000 |
|
8. |
The Jackie Gleason Show | CBS | 9,906,000 |
|
9. |
Fireside Theatre | NBC | 9,464,000 |
|
10. |
The Colgate Comedy Hour | NBC | 9,412,000 |
|
11. |
This Is Your Life | NBC | 9,412,000 |
|
12. |
The Red Buttons Show | CBS | 9,178,000 |
| 13. | The Life of Riley | NBC | 9,100,000 |
| 14. | Our Miss Brooks | CBS | 8,892,000 |
| 15. | Treasury Men in Action | NBC | 8,814,000 |
| 16. | The Jack Benny Show | CBS | 8,658,000 |
| 17. | The Toast of the Town | CBS | 8,580,000 |
| 18. | Gilette Cavalcade of Sports | NBC | 8,502,000 |
| 19. | Philco TV Playhouse | NBC | 8,450,000 |
|
20. |
The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show | CBS | 8,424,000 |
|
21. |
Kraft Television Theatre | NBC | 8,138,000 |
|
22. |
Goodyear TV Playhouse | NBC | 8,060,000 |
|
23. |
Pabst Blue Ribbon Bouts | CBS | 8,034,000 |
|
24. |
Private Secretary | CBS | 7,878,000 |
|
25. |
I Married Joan | NBC | 7,852,000 |
|
26. |
Mama | CBS | 7,852,000 |
|
27. |
General Electric Theatre | NBC | 7,774,000 |
|
28. |
What's My Line | CBS | 7,696,000 |
|
29. |
The Big Story | NBC | 7,670,000 |
|
30. |
Your Hit Parade | NBC | 7,670,000 |
Households with TV: 26,000,000
