| 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
