Match of the Day at 50 was seen by an average audience of 2.37 million (19.3%) on BBC One.
The hour long Match of the Day retrospective, which kicked off at 10.35pm, peaked with an audience of 2.53 million (20.8%).
BBC One also had success with Boomers, which with viewing figures of 3.56 million (18.3%), was Friday's highest-rated show outside of soaps at 9pm.
The evening began with 3.01 million (18.3%) for The One Show at 7pm, followed by 2.62 million (14.8%) for A Question of Sport and 2.62 million (13.5%) for Scrappers at 8.30pm.
The Dales was ITV's most popular show outside of soaps, scoring figures of 2.36 million (12.8%) at 8pm. Doc Martin was seen by 2.09 million (11%) at 9pm.
Young Vets got BBC Two's evening off to a respectable start, attracting 1.16 million (6.8%) at 7pm. It was followed by 1.66 million (8.9%) for Mastermind and 1.31 million (6.7%) for Sweets Made Simple.
The Great British Bake Off: An Extra Slice achieved an evening high of 2.11 million (10.9%) at 9pm, while Gardener's World was seen by 1.63 million (8.7%).
Over on Channel 4, The Million Pound Drop entertained 870k (4.5%) at 8pm, while 640k (3.3%) stuck around for The Singer Takes it All at 9pm, which was followed by 760k (4.6%) for The Last Leg.
Celebrity Big Brother continued to prove a ratings success for Channel 5. The latest episode was seen by 1.85 million (10%), while Celebrity Big Brother's Bit on the Side attracted 985k (7.7%) viewers.
BBC Four's The Kate Bush Story was among the highest-rated multichannel shows, picking up 738k (3.9%) viewers at 9.10pm.
