Editing Patton (film) (section)

===First telecast===
''Patton'' was first telecast by [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] as a three hours-plus color film special on Sunday, November 19, 1972, only two years after its theatrical release.<ref name=ratings/> That was highly unusual at the time, especially for a roadshow release which had played in theatres for many months. Most theatrical films at that time had to wait at least five years for their first telecast. Another unusual element of the telecast was that almost none of Patton's profanity-laced dialogue was cut (only two sentences, one of which contained no profanity, were cut from the famous opening speech in front of the giant US flag). The film was the fourth highest-rated film broadcast on television in the United States at the time, with a [[Nielsen rating]] of 38.5 and an audience share of 65%.<ref name=ratings>{{cite magazine|title=Hit Movies on U.S. TV Since 1961|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=24 January 1990|page=160}}</ref>