ORLANDO —
Sony Electronics and the Nielson television research company lists the space shuttle Challenger disaster and the Casey Anthony verdict as one of the 20 most memorable moments on TV in the last 50 years.
They ranked TV moments for their impact not just by asking people if they remembered watching them, but if they recalled where they watched it, who they were with and whether they talked to other people about what they had seen.
The number one most memorable moment was the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attack. The attack was nearly twice as impactful as the second-ranked moment, which was the coverage of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Minutes after the first airplane struck New York’s World Trade Center on a late summer morning, television networks began covering the events continuously and stayed with them for days.
The other biggest TV events, in order, were the 1995 verdict in O.J. Simpson’s murder trial, the Challenger space shuttle explosion in 1986 and the death of Osama bin Laden last year, the survey found.
Sony was interested in the study for clues on consumer interests and behaviors and found “that television is really the grandmother of all the social devices,” said Brian Siegel, vice president of television business for the company.
Following is a list of the top 20 most impactful TV moments of the past 50 years, according to the study.
- September 11 attacks 2001
- Hurricane Katrina – the levees break 2005
- OJ Simpson murder verdict 1995
- Challenger space shuttle disaster 1986
- Death of Osama bin Laden 2011
- OJ Simpson high-speed car chase 1994
- Earthquake/tsunami in Japan 2011
- Columbine school shooting 1999
- BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico 2010
- Funeral of Princess Diana 1997
- Death of Whitney Houston 2012
- Capture and execution of Saddam Hussein 2006
- Barack Obama acceptance speech 2008
- Prince William, Kate Middleton wedding 2011
- Assassination of John F. Kennedy 1963
- Oklahoma City bombing 1995
- Bush/Gore election results 2000
- Los Angeles riots/Rodney King beating 1992
- Casey Anthony murder trial verdict 2011
- Funeral of John F. Kennedy 1963
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.