All the Whos down in Whoville like Christmas a lot, but the majority of Monday night viewers tuned into the NBA’s Houston Rockets vs. Oklahoma City Thunder game on ABC.
While basketball brought ABC to the top of the Nice List (and Nielsen ratings) for the holiday evening, showings of the 1966 animated classic “Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas” and the 2000 live-action flick “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” brought NBC into a comfortable second place.
ABC was first in ratings with a 1.8 rating/7 share in the advertiser-coveted 18-49 demographic and in total viewers with an average of 5.5 million, according to preliminary numbers. The Rockets vs. Thunder game drew a 4.1 rating in metered markets from 8-10:30 p.m., followed by a repeat of “Black-ish.”
NBC was second in ratings with a 1.3/5 and in viewers with 4.2 million. At 8, a telecast of “Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas” nabbed a 1.6/6 and 5.3 million viewers. From 8:30-11, a showing of “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” posted a 1.3/5 and 4 million viewers.
CBS was third in ratings with a 0.6/2 and in viewers with 4 million. The network’s primetime lineup included reruns of “The Big Bang Theory,” “Kevin Can Wait,” “Young Sheldon,” “Man with a Plan,” and “Scorpion.”
Univision and Fox tied for fourth in ratings, with a 0.4/2 and 0.4/1, respectively. Fox came in fourth in total viewers with 1.4 million, airing repeats of their “Showtime at the Apollo” special and “The Gifted.” Univision was fifth with 1.3 million.
Telemundo was sixth in ratings with a 0.3/1 and seventh in viewers with 807,000.
The CW was seventh in ratings with a 0.2/1 and sixth in viewers with 948,000, broadcasting reruns of the “iHeartRadio Jingle Ball 2017” concert and “Whose Line is it Anyway.”
Live TV Musicals Ranked by Ratings, From 'Annie Live!' to 'Grease' (Photos)
NBC's "Annie Live!" bowed Thursday as the first new live musical production to air on broadcast TV since ABC's "The Little Mermaid Live!" in November 2019.
It also marked NBC's return to the genre, which it hasn't ventured into since "Jesus Christ Superstar Live!" on Easter Sunday of 2018, and the first of the Big 4 networks' live-TV musicals to be made during the COVID-19 era.
So naturally, all eyes were on how the Taraji P. Henson- and Harry Connick Jr.-led "Annie Live!" performed in TV ratings and viewership, as that's going to be used as an indicator of what "Tomorrow" looks like for the genre.
On the plus side, "Annie Live!" averaged 5.155 million total viewers, which was better than Fox's "Rent" and "A Christmas Story." Unfortunately, "Annie" ranks dead last in the key demo of adults 18-49, though that may be more of an indicator on how young adults view broadcast television in late 2021 vs. late 2019.
"Annie Live!" faced a lot of competition last night: Fox aired "Thursday Night Football," ABC had a highly anticipated Alec Baldwin interview in the first hour of primetime, and CBS did well with its first few sitcoms.
Scroll through our gallery to see how each of broadcast TV's modern-day, live musical productions rank by Nielsen numbers. Lowest-rated is first, highest-rated is last.
ABC
Rank: 11
Musical: "Annie Live!"
Date: December 2, 2021
Network: NBC
18-49 rating: 0.9
Total viewers: 5.155 million
NBC
Rank: 10
Musical: "Rent"
Date: January 27, 2019
Network: Fox
18-49 rating: 1.4
Total viewers: 3.415 million
Fox
Rank: 9
Musical: "A Christmas Story: Live"
Date: Dec. 17, 2017
Network: Fox
18-49 rating: 1.5
Total viewers: 4.481 million
Fox
Rank: 8
Musical: "The Passion"
Date: March 20, 2016
Network: Fox
18-49 rating: 1.6
Total viewers: 6.648 million
Fox
Rank: 7
Musical: "Jesus Christ Superstar Live!"
Date: April 1, 2018
Network: NBC
18-49 rating: 1.7
Total viewers: 9.607 million
NBC
Rank: 6
Musical: "Hairspray Live!"
Date: Dec. 7, 2016
Network: NBC
18-49 rating: 2.3
Total viewers: 9.045 million
NBC
Rank: 5
Musical: "Peter Pan Live!"
Date: Dec. 4, 2014
Network: NBC
18-49 rating: 2.4
Total viewers: 9.211 million
NBC
Rank: 4
Musical: "The Little Mermaid Live!"
Date: Nov. 5, 2019
Network: ABC
18-49 rating: 2.6
Total viewers: 8.978 million
ABC
Rank: 3
Musical: "The Wiz Live!"
Date: Dec. 3, 2015
Network: NBC
18-49 rating: 3.4
Total viewers: 11.498 million
NBC
Rank: 2
Musical: "Grease: Live"
Date: Jan. 1, 2016
Network: Fox
18-49 rating: 4.3
Total viewers: 12.206 million
Fox
Rank: 1
Musical: "Sound of Music Live!"
Date: Dec. 5, 2013
Network: NBC
18-49 rating: 4.6
Total viewers: 18.624 million
NBC
1 of 12
Thursday show marked the long-awaited return of broadcast TV’s modern-day, live musical productions
NBC's "Annie Live!" bowed Thursday as the first new live musical production to air on broadcast TV since ABC's "The Little Mermaid Live!" in November 2019.
It also marked NBC's return to the genre, which it hasn't ventured into since "Jesus Christ Superstar Live!" on Easter Sunday of 2018, and the first of the Big 4 networks' live-TV musicals to be made during the COVID-19 era.
So naturally, all eyes were on how the Taraji P. Henson- and Harry Connick Jr.-led "Annie Live!" performed in TV ratings and viewership, as that's going to be used as an indicator of what "Tomorrow" looks like for the genre.
On the plus side, "Annie Live!" averaged 5.155 million total viewers, which was better than Fox's "Rent" and "A Christmas Story." Unfortunately, "Annie" ranks dead last in the key demo of adults 18-49, though that may be more of an indicator on how young adults view broadcast television in late 2021 vs. late 2019.
"Annie Live!" faced a lot of competition last night: Fox aired "Thursday Night Football," ABC had a highly anticipated Alec Baldwin interview in the first hour of primetime, and CBS did well with its first few sitcoms.
Scroll through our gallery to see how each of broadcast TV's modern-day, live musical productions rank by Nielsen numbers. Lowest-rated is first, highest-rated is last.
ABC
NBC
