Top 10 TV Events That Were Watched By Biggest Amounts Of Viewers

10) President John F. Kennedy’s Funeral (1963)

In addition to the 250,000 people attending the funeral, and the 800,000 people who lined the road to watch the procession, over 180 million people watch the funeral for the 35th President.

9) Prince William and Catherine Middleton’s Wedding (2011)

The 2011 Royal Wedding was held on April 29th, and was viewed by over 300 million people across 188 countries.

8) Cricket World Cup Semi-Final, India vs. Pakistan (2011)

The 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup featured India and Sri Lanka, but the most viewed match was the semi-final between India and Pakistan. India went on to win the World Cup.

7) CCTV New Year ‘s Gala (2012)

Also known as the Spring Festival Gala, this annual event celebrates the Chinese New Year. Guinness World Records recognizes it as one of the most popular and watched variety shows.

6) Michael Jackson’s Memorial Service (2009)

The King of Pop’s memorial service was held in the Staples Center, and was viewed by over half a billion fans.

17,500 tickets were given away to fans, and over 1.6 million people applied within 24 hours.

5) Apollo 11 Moon Landing (1969)

We walked on the freaking moon, we stole some rocks, and 500 million watched us be the biggest science badasses ever.

4) FIFA World Cup Final, Italy vs. France (2006)

Over 700 million people watched as Italy took home its first world title in over 20 years.

3) Aloha From Hawaii (1973)

Elvis Presley’s live concert event was broadcast live from Honolulu, and over a billion people watched the most expensive special produced at the time ($2.5 million).

2) The Chilean Miners’ Rescue (2010)

For over 3 months, 33 miners were trapped underground in a mine in Chile. Over a billion people watched as the rescue workers recovered the miners, which almost took a full day.

1) Beijing Olympics Opening Ceremony (2008)

The top spot goes to the Opening Ceremony of the Beijing Summer Olympics. Featuring over 15,000 performers and costing more than $100 million dollars, this four hour event gathered over 2 billion viewers.