The 1949-1950 television season is the fourth network season in United States television history. It began on Sunday, August 28, 1949 and ended on Saturday, March 25, 1950. The effective start date of the 1949-50 season for the purposes of audience measurement was Sunday, August 28, 1949 through Saturday, August 26, 1950.
Top 10 ranking of the highest achieved rating by programs during the span of the 1949-50 TV season. See the extended list of the 1949-50 top-rated shows.
| Rank | Program | Network | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| High | Low | |||
| 1 | Milton Berle Show | NBC | 80.0 | 61.7 |
| 2 | Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts | CBS | 70.6 | 42.8 |
| 3 | Star Spangled Revue | NBC | 57.6 | |
| 4 | Arthur Godfrey & His Friends | CBS | 57.4 | 28.5 |
| 5 | Ed Sullivan Show | CBS | 56.5 | 42.4 |
| 6 | Stop the Music | ABC | 51.9 | 30.6 |
| 7 | Gillette Cavalcade of Sports | NBC | 51.1 | 37.2 |
| 8 | Lights Out | NBC | 49.7 | 34.0 |
| 9 | Lone Ranger | ABC | 49.1 | 29.6 |
| 10 | The Goldbergs | CBS | 49.0 | 32.7 |
Universe estimates used to calculate a program or network's rating within that particular demographic for the 1949-50 TV season.
| Demographic | Population | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Households | 4,197,000 | |
| Persons 2+ | 12,591,000 |