Editing Bonanza (section)

== Release ==
=== Broadcast history and ratings ===
[[File:Lorne Greene Ben Cartwright Bonanza.JPG|thumb|right|Lorne Greene as Ben Cartwright]]
Initially, ''Bonanza'' aired on Saturdays at 7:30&nbsp;p.m. Eastern, opposite ''Dick Clark's Saturday Night Beech-Nut Show'' and ''[[John Gunther's High Road]]'' on [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]], and ''[[Perry Mason (1957 TV series)|Perry Mason]]'' on [[CBS]]. ''Bonanza''{{'}}s initial ratings were respectable, often coming in behind Mason but ahead of the ABC lineup. Ironically, executives considered canceling the show before its premiere because of its high cost. NBC kept it because ''Bonanza'' was one of the first series to be filmed and broadcast in [[Color television|color]], including scenes of picturesque [[Lake Tahoe, Nevada]]. NBC's corporate parent, [[Radio Corporation of America]] (RCA), used the show to spur sales of RCA-manufactured color television sets (RCA was also the primary sponsor of the series during its first two seasons).

For Season 3, NBC moved ''Bonanza'' to Sundays at 9:00&nbsp;pm Eastern with new sponsor [[Chevrolet]] (replacing ''[[The Dinah Shore Chevy Show]]''). The new time slot caused ''Bonanza'' to soar in the ratings, and it eventually reached number one by 1964, an honor it would keep until 1967. By 1970, ''Bonanza'' was the first series to appear in the Top Five list for nine consecutive seasons (a record that would stand for many years) and thus established itself as the most consistent strong-performing hit television series of the 1960s. ''Bonanza'' remained high on the [[Nielsen ratings]] until 1971, when it finally fell out of the Top Ten.

During the summer of 1972, NBC broadcast reruns of episodes of the show from the 1967–1970 era on Tuesdays at 7:30&nbsp;p.m. under the title ''Ponderosa'' while also rerunning more recent episodes on Sunday evenings in the show{{'}}s normal time slot as ''Bonanza''.<ref name="brooks"/> In the fall of 1972, off-network episodes were released in [[broadcast syndication]] to local stations by NBC under the ''Ponderosa'' name. After the series was canceled in 1973, the syndicated reruns reverted to the ''Bonanza'' name.

=== Home media ===
{{Anchor|Home video and DVD releases|DVD|Video}}
A handful of early episodes have fallen into the public domain. These episodes have been released by several companies in different configurations, with substandard picture and sound quality, edited, and by legal necessity with the copyright-protected Evans–Livingston theme song replaced with generic western music.

In 1973, NBC sold its NBC Films syndication division, and with it the rights to the series, along with the rest of its pre-1973 library, to [[National Telefilm Associates]],<ref>{{Cite news|date=1973-02-12|title=Sale of NBC Films completes exodus of networks from syndication|work=[[Broadcasting & Cable|Broadcasting]]|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Magazines/Archive-BC-IDX/73-OCR/1973-02-12-BC-OCR-Page-0013.pdf|access-date=2021-08-25}}</ref> which changed its name to Republic Pictures in 1984. Republic would become part of the [[Spelling Television|Spelling Entertainment]] organization in 1994 through [[Worldvision Enterprises]]. Select episodes ("The Best of Bonanza") were officially released in North America in 2003 on DVD through then-Republic video licensee [[Artisan Entertainment]] (which was later purchased by [[Lions Gate Entertainment|Lionsgate Home Entertainment]]). Republic (through [[CBS Media Ventures]], which holds the television side of Republic's holdings) still retains the syndication distribution rights to the series. [[CBS Home Entertainment]] (under [[Paramount Home Media Distribution]]) is the official home video rights distributor at present.

Starting in September 2009, [[CBS Home Entertainment]] (distributed by [[Paramount Home Entertainment|Paramount]]) has to date released the first eleven seasons on DVD in Region 1. All episodes have been digitally remastered from original 35 mm film elements to yield the best picture and sound quality possible with current technology. CBSHE has released each season in two-volume sets (available together and separately). On May 23, 2023, the remaining seasons 12, 13 and 14 were released on DVD, as well as a box set of the complete series containing all 431 episodes on 112 DVDs.

In Region 2, ''AL!VE AG'' released the first seven seasons on DVD in Germany between 2008 and 2010. These releases are now out of print as AL!VE has lost the rights. In 2011, [[StudioCanal]] acquired the rights to the series and have begun re-releasing it on DVD, and all seasons have now been released but have not been remastered.

Episodes of the series have also been officially released as part-works on DVD in France and the United Kingdom.

''Bonanza'' "the official first season" was released in [[Scandinavia]] during 2010. The first season is released in 4 volumes. The first two volumes were released on October 20, 2010, and the second two volumes on April 27, 2011.

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+Region 1 DVD releases of ''Bonanza''
|-
! DVD name
! Ep #
! Release date
|-
| The Official 1st Season, Vol. 1
| style="text-align:center;"|16
| September 15, 2009<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Bonanza-Season-1-Box-Art/12194 |title=Bonanza DVD news: Box Art for Bonanza – The Official 1st Season, Volume 1 and Bonanza – The Official 1st Season, Volume 2 |publisher=TVShowsOnDVD.com |access-date=2012-07-13 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120517150903/http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Bonanza-Season-1-Box-Art/12194 |archive-date=May 17, 2012 |df=mdy-all }}</ref>
|-
| The Official 1st Season, Vol. 2
| style="text-align:center;"|16
| September 15, 2009
|-
| The Official 2nd Season, Vol. 1
| style="text-align:center;"|18
| December 7, 2010<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Bonanza-Season-2-Volume-1/14462 |title=Bonanza DVD news: Announcement for Bonanza – The Official 2nd Season, Vol. 1 |publisher=TVShowsOnDVD.com |access-date=March 7, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120123060134/http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Bonanza-Season-2-Volume-1/14462 |archive-date=January 23, 2012 |df=mdy-all }}</ref>
|-
| The Official 2nd Season, Vol. 2
| style="text-align:center;"|16
| October 11, 2011<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Bonanza-Season-2-Volume-2/15674 |title=Bonanza DVD news: Announcement for Bonanza – The Official 2nd Season, Vol. 2 |publisher=TVShowsOnDVD.com |access-date=March 7, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120429105052/http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Bonanza-Season-2-Volume-2/15674 |archive-date=April 29, 2012 |df=mdy-all }}</ref>
|-
| The Official 3rd Season, Vol. 1
| style="text-align:center;"|18
| July 17, 2012
|-
| The Official 3rd Season, Vol. 2
| style="text-align:center;"|16
| July 17, 2012
|-
| The Official 4th Season, Vol. 1
| style="text-align:center;"|18
| October 2, 2012
|-
| The Official 4th Season, Vol. 2
| style="text-align:center;"|16
| October 2, 2012
|-
| The Official 5th Season, Vol. 1
| style="text-align:center;"|18
| February 12, 2013
|-
| The Official 5th Season, Vol. 2
| style="text-align:center;"|16
| February 12, 2013
|-
| The Official 6th Season, Vol. 1
| style="text-align:center;"|18
| July 9, 2013
|-
| The Official 6th Season, Vol. 2
| style="text-align:center;"|16
| July 9, 2013
|-
| The Official 7th Season, Vol. 1
| style="text-align:center;"|15
| September 2, 2014
|-
| The Official 7th Season, Vol. 2
| style="text-align:center;"|18
| September 2, 2014
|-
| The Official 8th Season, Vol. 1
| style="text-align:center;"|18
| June 2, 2015
|-
| The Official 8th Season, Vol. 2
| style="text-align:center;"|16
| June 2, 2015
|-
| The Official 9th Season, Vol. 1
| style="text-align:center;"|16
| May 7, 2019
|-
| The Official 9th Season, Vol. 2
| style="text-align:center;"|18
| May 7, 2019
|-
| The Official 10th Season, Vol. 1
| style="text-align:center;"|15
| December 17, 2019
|-
| The Official 10th Season, Vol. 2
| style="text-align:center;"|15
| December 17, 2019
|-
| The Official 11th Season, Vol. 1
| style="text-align:center;"|16
| October 27, 2020
|-
| The Official 11th Season, Vol. 2
| style="text-align:center;"|12
| October 27, 2020
|-
| The Official 12th Season
| style="text-align:center;"|28
| May 23, 2023
|-
| The Official 13th Season
| style="text-align:center;"|26
| May 23, 2023
|-
| The Official 14th Season
| style="text-align:center;"|16
| May 23, 2023
|-
| The Official Complete Series
| style="text-align:center;"|431
| May 23, 2023
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|+Region 2 DVD releases of ''Bonanza''
|-
! rowspan="2"|Season
! colspan="2"|Release dates
|-
! Germany
! Scandinavia
|-
| Season 1
| December 8, 2011
| December 20, 2010<br/>April 27, 2011
|-
| Season 2
| February 16, 2012
| No release of seasons 2–14
|-
| Season 3
| April 19, 2012
| 
|-
| Season 4
| June 21, 2012
| 
|-
| Season 5
| August 23, 2012
| 
|-
| Season 6
| October 18, 2012
| 
|-
| Season 7
| November 1, 2012
| 
|-
| Seasons 1–7
| December 6, 2012
| 
|-
| Season 8
| January 24, 2013<ref>{{cite web |date=2013-01-30 |title=Bonanza – Die komplette 8. Staffel [9 DVDs&#93;: Amazon.de: Lorne Greene, Michael Landon, Dan Blocker, Ray Evans: Filme & TV |url=https://www.amazon.de/Bonanza-Season-8-Lorne-Greene/dp/B009TKJD0K |access-date=2013-02-16 |publisher=Amazon.de}}</ref>
| 
|-
| Season 9
| February 21, 2013<ref>{{cite web |date=2012-12-13 |title=Bonanza – Die komplette 9. Staffel [9 DVDs&#93;: Amazon.de: Lorne Greene, Michael Landon, Dan Blocker, Ray Evans: Filme & TV |url=https://www.amazon.de/Bonanza-Season-9-DVDs/dp/B00AAPW9MC |access-date=2013-02-16 |publisher=Amazon.de}}</ref>
|
|-
| Season 10
| April 18, 2013<ref>{{cite web |title=Bonanza – Die komplette 10. Staffel [8 DVDs&#93;: Amazon.de: Lorne Greene, Michael Landon, Dan Blocker, Victor Sen Yung: Filme & TV |url=https://www.amazon.de/Bonanza-Die-komplette-Staffel-DVDs/dp/B00B1NJD8A |access-date=2013-02-16 |publisher=Amazon.de}}</ref>
|
|-
| Season 11
| June 6, 2013
| 
|-
| Season 12
| August 1, 2013
| 
|-
| Season 13
| October 2, 2013
| 
|-
| Season 14
| November 21, 2013
| 
|-
| Seasons 8–14
| December 5, 2013
|}

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+Region 4 DVD releases of ''Bonanza''
|-
! DVD name
! Ep #
! Release date
|-
| Season 1
| style="text-align:center;"|32
| November 2, 2011
|-
| Season 2
| style="text-align:center;"|34
| February 8, 2012
|-
| Season 3
| style="text-align:center;"|34
| May 9, 2012
|-
| Season 4
| style="text-align:center;"|34
| October 3, 2012
|-
| Season 5
| style="text-align:center;"|34
| January 15, 2014
|-
| Season 6
| style="text-align:center;"|34
| February 10, 2016
|-
| Season 7
| style="text-align:center;"|33
| May 4, 2016
|-
|Season 8
|34
|February 6, 2019<ref>{{Cite web|title=Bonanza - Season 8|url=https://www.jbhifi.com.au/products/bonanza-season-8-1965-dvd|access-date=2020-12-02|website=JB Hi-Fi|language=en}}</ref>
|-
|Season 9
|34
|August 7, 2019<ref>{{Cite web|title=Bonanza - Season 9|url=https://www.jbhifi.com.au/products/bonanza-season-9-1965-dvd|access-date=2020-12-02|website=JB Hi-Fi|language=en}}</ref>
|-
|Season 10
|30
|March 18, 2020<ref>{{Cite web|title=Bonanza - The Official Tenth Season|url=https://www.jbhifi.com.au/products/bonanza-the-official-tenth-season-1965-dvd|access-date=2020-12-02|website=JB Hi-Fi|language=en}}</ref>
|-
|Season 1-4
|134
|November 18, 2020<ref>{{Cite web|title=Bonanza - Season 1-4|url=https://www.jbhifi.com.au/products/bonanza-season-1-4-1959-dvd|access-date=2020-12-02|website=JB Hi-Fi|language=en}}</ref>
|-
|Season 11
|28
|February 17, 2021<ref>{{Cite web|title=Bonanza : The Official Eleventh Season - DVD|url=https://www.madman.com.au/catalogue/view/55846/bonanza-the-official-eleventh-season|access-date=2020-12-02|website=Madman Entertainment|language=en-US}}</ref>
|-
|Season 12
|28
|August 23, 2023<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bonanza: The Official Twelfth Season {{!}} Via Vision Entertainment |url=https://viavision.com.au/shop/bonanza-the-official-twelfth-season/ |access-date=2023-07-23 |website=viavision.com.au}}</ref>
|}