Most memorable TV moments

Sept. 11 attacks 2001Smoke pours from the twin towers of the World Trade Center after they were hit by two hijacked airliners in a terrorist attack Sept. 11, 2001, in New York. This event tops a list of memorable moments ranked for their impact in a study by Sony Electronics and Nielsen television research company.

Death of Osama bin Laden 2011In a late-Sunday appearance in the White House's East Room in May, President Obama announced the news of Osama bin Laden’s death.

Death of Osama bin Laden 2011Osama bin Laden, the former head of the Islamist militant group al-Qaed, was killed in Pakistan on May 2, 1011, by Navy SEALs of the United States Naval Special Warfare Development Group, also known as Seal Team Six.

Hurricane Katrina 2005People sit on their front porch as their neighborhood is flooded after Hurricane Katrina hit the area Aug. 29, 2005, in New Orleans.

Hurricane Katrina 2005Floodwaters pour through a levee along the Inner Harbor Navigation Canal, also known as the Industrial Canal in New Orleans after the Hurricane Katrina ravaged the city.

Hurricane Katrina 2005News coverage of the levees breaking following Hurricane Katrina was second. News-oriented items that crossed generations proved to be the most influential TV experiences, and stories of a communal nature or with widespread relevance also resonated with viewers.

O.J. Simpson murder verdict 1995O.J. Simpson shows the jury a new pair of Aris extra-large gloves, similar to the gloves found at the Bundy and Rockingham crime scene, on June 21, 1995, during his double murder trial in Los Angeles.

O.J. Simpson murder verdict 1995

O.J. Simpson clenches his fists in victory after a Los Angeles jury delivered its not guilty verdict in the murders of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman. Lead defense attorney Johnnie L. Cochran Jr. stands directly behind Simpson as lawyers F. Lee Bailey, far left, and Robert Kardashian, second from left, listen to the verdict.

Challenger space shuttle disaster 1986The space shuttle Challenger explodes over Cape Canaveral, Fla., killing seven crew members, including schoolteacher Christa McAuliffe. The disaster aired live on television.

O.J. Simpson high-speed car chase 1994Motorists wave as police cars pursue the white Ford Bronco driven by Al Cowlings, carrying fugitive murder suspect O.J. Simpson, on a 90-minute slow-speed car chase June 17, 1994, on the 405 freeway in Los Angeles.

O.J. Simpson high-speed car chase 1994A white Ford Bronco, driven by Al Cowlings and carrying O.J. Simpson, is trailed by police cars as it travels on a Los Angeles freeway. Cowlings and Simpson led authorities on a chase after Simpson was charged with two counts of murder in the deaths of his ex-wife and her friend.

Earthquake and tsunami in Japan 2011Chieko Chiba walks through the rubble after going to see her destroyed home March 16, 2011, in Kesennuma, Miyagi province, Japan. The 9.0 magnitude strong earthquake struck offshore on March 11 at 2:46pm local time, triggering a tsunami, which engulfed large parts of northeastern Japan.

Earthquake and tsunami in Japan 2011Volunteers and rescue workers clear debris to search for bodies in Rikuzentakata after Japan's 9.0-magnitude earthquake and tsunami.

Columbine school shooting 1999Police stand outside the east entrance of Columbine High school as bomb squads and SWAT teams secure students April 20, 1999, in Littleton, Colo. Thirteen students and one teacher died, making it one of the deadliest school shootings in U.S. history. Dylan Klebold, 17, and Eric Harris, 18, stormed the school with bombs, shotguns and semi-automatic weapons and began their killing spree. The two committed suicide during their rampage.

Columbine school shooting 1999

Children head to a library near Littleton, Colo.'s Columbine High School, from which students and faculty members were evacuated after two students went on a shooting rampage

Columbine school shooting 1999An unidentified woman stands among 15 crosses posted on a hill above Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo., on April 28, 1999. As the Los Angeles Times reported, two seniors -- Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold -- killed 12 students and one teacher. They also injured 21 other students; three people were injured while attempting to escape. The pair later committed suicide. The Columbine shootings were the fourth-deadliest school massacre in United States history.

Los Angeles riots/Rodney King beating 1992Rodney King, whose beating by LAPD officers sparked the riots, speaks during a news conference on May 1, 1992, in Beverly Hills. His attorney, Steven Lerman, is at left. King called for the end of violence in the city, poignantly pleading, "Can we all get along? Can we get along? Can we stop making it horrible for the older people and the kids?" The rioting broke out after police officers were acquitted of charges in the beating. King died earlier this year.

Los Angeles riots/Rodney King beating 1992People move in on a liquor store during a second day of riots and looting after the Rodney King decision in Los Angeles

BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico 2010Fire boat response crews spray water on the blazing remnants of BP's Deepwater Horizon offshore oil rig on April 21, 2010 . BP settled lawsuits brought by more than 100,000 fishermen who lost work, cleanup workers who got sick and others who claimed harm from the oil giant's 2010 Gulf of Mexico disaster, the worst offshore oil spill in the nation's history.

BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico 2010The Deepwater Horizon oil rig burns in the Gulf of Mexico, off the southeast tip of Louisiana.

Capture and execution of Saddam Hussein 2006This image, taken from Iraqi national television station Al-iraqia video, shows former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein being led into the gallows room to be prepared for hanging, on Dec. 30, 2006, in Baghdad, Iraq. The former Iraqi president was executed by hanging in a secure facility in the Northern Baghdad suburb of Khadimeya.

Capture and execution of Saddam Hussein 2006

Saddam Hussein looks across the court during Day 3 of the Anfal campaign trial in Baghdad. The former Iraqi leader was hanged for crimes against humanity on Dec. 30.

Barack Obama acceptance speech 2008President-elect Barack Obama acknowledges the crowd as he joined by wife Michelle and daughters Sacha and Malia following his victory speech at his election party in Chicago on Nov. 4, 2008.

Obama acceptance speech (2008)President-elect Barack Obama gives his acceptance speech at Grant Park in Chicago after defeating Republican candidate John McCain.

Prince William, Kate Middleton wedding 2011Britain's Prince William and his wife Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, look at each other as they come out of Westminster Abbey following their wedding ceremony, in London, on April 29, 2011.

Prince William, Kate Middleton wedding 2011From left, Prince Harry, Prince William, Kate Middleton and her father, Michael Middleton, during the royal wedding at Westminster Abbey in London.

Assassination of John F. Kennedy 1963President John F. Kennedy and his wife Jacqueline, shortly before his assassination in Dallas on Nov. 22, 1963.

Assassination of John F. Kennedy 1963The limousine carrying mortally wounded President John F. Kennedy races toward the hospital after he was shot in Dallas. With Secret Service agent Clinton Hill riding on the back of the car, Nellie Connally, wife of Texas's governor, John Connally, bends over her wounded husband, while Jacqueline Kennedy leans over her husband.

Assassination of John F. Kennedy 1963President John F. Kennedy rides with First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy in a Dallas motorcade before being assassinated.

Oklahoma City bombing 1995Floodlights illuminate the Albert P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City April 20, 1995 as rescuers continue searching for bodies in the aftermath of the April 19 explosion caused by a fuel-and fertilizer truck bomb that was detonated in front of the building. The blast killed 168 people and injured more than 500. Timothy McVeigh, convicted on first-degree murder charges for the bombing, was sentenced to death in 1997.

Oklahoma City bombing 1995Rescue crews search the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City for victims after the deadly car-bomb attack.

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Oklahoma City bombing 1995

Rescue workers stand before the devastated Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building on April 19, 1995,following the deadly explosion in downtown Oklahoma City. The terrorist bomb blast that day killed 168 people including 19 children under the age of 6. Timothy McVeigh was executed for his role in the bombing. Co-conspirator Terry Nichols is serving a life sentence

Bush/Gore election results 2000

People in Times Square watch Vice President Al Gore concede the race for president to George W. Bush Dec. 13, 2000, on a giant video screen in New York.

Bush/Gore election results 2000Republican presidential candidate George W. Bush, left, greets Democratic contender Vice President Al Gore before their third and final debate at Washington University in St. Louis. The U.S. Supreme Court’s Bush v. Gore decision handed Bush a victory.

Janet Jackson's 'wardrobe malfunction'In this Sunday Feb. 1, 2004 file photo, entertainer Janet Jackson, left, covers her breast after her outfit came undone during the half time performance with Justin Timberlake at Super Bowl XXXVIII in Houston. Sony Electronics and the Nielsen television research company collaborated on a survey ranking TV's most memorable moments.

Casey Anthony murder trial verdict 2011Casey Anthony reacts after the jury acquitted her of murdering her daughter, Caylee, during Anthony's murder trial at the Orange County Courthouse in Orlando, Fla., July 5, 2011.

Casey Anthony murder trial verdict 2011

Casey Anthony holds hands with her defense attorney, Jose Baez, as they listen to the verdict — not guilty on murder charges — at the Orange County Courthouse in Orlando, Fla. The jury acquitted Anthony of murdering her daughter, Caylee.

Funeral of John F. Kennedy 1963

Jacqueline Kennedy, center, stands with her two children Caroline Kennedy and John F. Kennedy Jr. and brothers-in law Ted Kennedy, left back, and Robert Kennedy, second from the right, at the funeral of her husband President John F. Kennedy Nov. 26, 1963, in Washington.

Funeral of John F. Kennedy 1963

Apollo 11 moon landing 1969

This July 20, 1969 file photo released by NASA shows astronaut Edwin E. "Buzz" Aldrin Jr. posing for a photograph beside the U.S. flag deployed on the moon during the Apollo 11 mission. Aldrin and fellow astronaut Neil Armstrong were the first men to walk on the lunar surface. Sony Electronics and the Nielsen television research company collaborated on a survey ranking TV's most memorable moments.

Prince Charles, Princess Diana weddingIn this July 29, 1981 file photo, Britain's Prince Charles kisses his bride, the former Diana Spencer, on the balcony of Buckingham Palace in London, after their wedding. Sony Electronics and the Nielsen television research company collaborated on a survey ranking TV's most memorable moments. 

Funeral of Princess Diana 1997From left, Prince William, Earl Spencer, Prince Harry and Prince Charles approach the gun carriage with the coffin of Diana, Princess of Wales, in London on Sept. 6, 1997, during the funeral ceremony.

Funeral of Princess Diana 1997 A gun carriage bears the coffin of the Princess Diana, draped in the Royal Standard, as it leaves London's Kensington Palace en route for the funeral service at London's Westminster Abbey. The princess was killed in a car crash in Paris on Aug. 31.

Death of Whitney Houston 2012The hearse carrying the body of singer Whitney Houston leaves the Whigham Funeral Home on Feb. 18, 2012, in Newark, N.J., en route to a private funeral at the New Hope Baptist Church.

Death of Whitney Houston 2012Singer Whitney Houston died Feb. 11 in Beverly Hills, Calif., at age 48. Coroner's officials said that the Grammy Award winner drowned but that her death was also caused by heart disease and cocaine use.

Michael Jackson memorial 2009

This July 7, 2009 file photo shows singer Janet Jackson, left, Paris Katherine Jackson, Prince Michael Jackson II, and LaToya Jackson on stage during the memorial service for Michael Jackson at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Sony Electronics and the Nielsen television research company collaborated on a survey ranking TV's most memorable moments. 

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