ABC’s holiday special brought in strong ratings for the network last week, with the “Dancing With the Stars” special leading the pack with 5.2 million viewers, TheWrap can reveal exclusively.
Following up on the ratings growth “Dancing With the Stars” saw during its 34th season, the show’s first “Dancing with the Holidays” special became the No. 1 show on the night of Tuesday, Dec. 2, as it scored a 0.65 rating among adults 18-49, boosting it to become the No. 1 holiday-themed special across the broadcast networks among adults 18-49 in two years.
The special, which kicked off the night at 8 p.m. ET/PT and is produced by BBC Studios, also became the most-watched program of the night among adults 18-34 as it scored a 0.61 rating in the demo.
After “Dancing With the Holidays” was the 9 p.m. by the annual “CMA Country Christmas” special, which scored 3.90 million total viewers. The Nashville-based program was the most-watched show during the hour with a 0.34 rating among adults 18-49 demo, tying as the No. 2 entertainment show of the night in the demo, behind only “Dancing with the Holidays.”
Among the 18-34 demo, “CMA Country Christmas” scored a 0.26 rating — up 24% over last year’s special — and hit a five-year high with the highest demo rating the special has seen since 2020.
ABC wrapped up Tuesday night with the holiday special of “What Would You Do?” at 10 p.m., which scored 2.33 million total viewers and a 0.21 rating among adults 18-49. The holiday edition rose over its regular season average in both categories, with total viewers up 40% and demo viewers up 19%.
On social media, “Dancing with the Holidays” was the top entertainment program across broadcast and cable for the night, while “CMA Country Christmas” was No. 2. Social impressions for “CMA Country Christmas” reached 185,200, up 138% over last year’s “CMA Country Christmas.”
