Full House originally aired on Fridays, from September 22, 1987 to August 1991. During the first season, the show aired twice a week, on Tuesdays and Fridays, for a couple of months, to help the series build an audience. For the next three seasons, the show remained on Fridays. In this period, Full House became an important part of ABC's TGIF block. From season 5, the show was moved to Tuesdays, where it remained until its ending in 1995.
Season 1 was not very successful, mostly because it was placed in an 8/7c time slot, while most new series start out in protected time slots, preceded by successful lead-ins. Despite the low ratings in season 1, ABC decided to continue the show for a second season. In season 2, the show quickly became popular. Part of its popularity was because it was placed immediately following the established hit show Perfect Strangers.
From season three onwards, Full House was ranked among the Nielsen ratings' Top 30. By season 4, it jumped to the top 20, where it remained until season 7. Both season 5 and 6 even earned the show a spot in the top 10!
Although the show was still rated in the top 25 by 1995, ABC announced that it was canceling the show after the 8th season. The main reason were the increasing production costs. The new WB network wanted to pick up the show for a 9th season, however, but John Stamos announced season 8 to be his last. Eventually the other actors also announced they were ready to move on to other projects.
24.3 million viewers watched the hour-long finale of Full House. This meant a #7 ranking for the week, and attracting a 14.6 household rating and 25 percent audience share.
