NBC and Peacock Holiday ratings: 88 million viewers
Between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day, NBCUniversal’s holiday programming reached a total of 88 million average viewers.
That total comes from a combination of Nielsen’s measurement of broadcasts on NBC and the company’s own internal data regarding streams on Peacock. For context, NBCU reported 82 million viewers for its holiday program in 2023but that number was measured from Thanksgiving to December 22 instead of January 1.
The biggest contributor to the 88 million viewers was the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, the No. 1 most-watched program of the holiday across all networks. The parade increased viewership by 11% from 2023 and reached its largest audience ever with an average of 31.7 million viewers on NBC and Peacock.
The third most-watched broadcast program of the holiday also aired on NBC: The National Dog Show, which drew 12.3 million viewers across NBC and Peacock, up 5% from the year before.
Also on the NBCU holiday list was “Jimmy Fallon’s Holiday Seasonings,” which became the year’s top new holiday special with 3.8 million viewers and featured multiple classic Christmas films. “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” aired on NBC for the first time in 50 years and drew 4.8 million viewers, a 50% increase over last year’s CBS broadcast, and “Frosty the Snowman” rose 51 % vs. 2023 CBS telecast with 2.8 million viewers in its first ever on NBC. Additionally, “Saturday Night Live” aired Thanksgiving and Christmas specials that were up 9% and 26%, respectively, from the year before.
