U.S. television ratings
How many people on average watched the first four seasons of Grey's Anatomy?
Grey's Anatomy
"Greys Anatomy" has received high viewership and ratings since its debut. The first four seasons of the program each ranked in the top ten among all viewers, reaching its peak Nielsen ratings in the second season, attracting an average of 19.44 million viewers per episode, and ranking at fifth place overall. Following the show's time-slot being relocated, overall rankings steadily declined, dropping below the top ten in its fifth season. "Grey's Anatomy" made its greatest fall from its sixth to seventh season, slipping from seventeenth place to thirty-first. The series is on a steady decline in terms of overall viewership and rankings, yet "Grey's Anatomy" still holds value in charts when numbers are pulled from the digital video recorder (DVR). It was the most recorded show between 2007 and 2011, based on cumulative totals, and has been for several years in a row. The most-watched episode of the series is "It's the End of the World", with 37.88 million viewers, aided by a lead-in from Super Bowl XL. In contrast, the least-watched episode is "The Lion Sleeps Tonight", which garnered 8.19 million viewers—a 30% decrease from "It's the End of the World". In 2011, "Grey's Anatomy" was named the fourth-highest revenue earning show of the year, with US$2.67 million per half hour, behind "Desperate Housewives", "Two and a Half Men", and "American Idol" at the top. In 2012, the show was the fifth-highest revenue earning show of the year, with US$2.75 million per half hour, behind "Glee", "Two and a Half Men", "The X Factor (U.S.)" and "American Idol". While "Grey's Anatomy" is no longer ranked in the top numbers for overall ratings, the show's ranking in the key 18–49 demographic has remained high. As of season eight, the series is the highest-rated drama on television in the target demographic. Below is a table of "Grey's Anatomy"s seasonal rankings in the U.S. television market, based on average total viewers per episode. Each U.S. network television season starts in September and ends in late May, which coincides with the completion of May sweeps.