TV Ratings: Some Very Old Holiday Favs Score Well

ABC’s showing of “A Charlie Brown Christmas” was the most-watched of a handful of holiday specials that aired in prime-time last week, reaching 5.3 million viewers, according to The Associated Press citing the Nielsen data. It’s a tradition in many households that was first on television in December 1965.

Two other old favorites, “Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer” and “Frosty the Snowman,” were both seen by more than 4 million people on CBS Saturday night. “Rudolph” dates to 1964, while “Frosty” made his debut in 1969.

Another venerable cartoon, Fox’s “The Simpsons,” impressively hit Nielsen’s top 20 last week with 7.5 million viewers. It has been a regular fixture on Fox’s schedule since 1989, with its origins in some animated shorts that ran two years earlier than that.

CBS won the week in prime-time, averaging 6.9 million viewers, edging NBC’s 6.8 million. Fox averaged 5.9 million and won among the 18-to-49-year-old demographic it seeks. ABC had 3.6 million, Univision had 1.4 million, ION Television had 1.2 million, the CW had 1.1 million and Telemundo had 1.09 million.

ESPN was the week’s most popular cable network, averaging 2.49 million viewers in prime time. Fox News Channel had 2.11 million, Hallmark had 2.02 million, MSNBC had 2 million and USA had 1.25 million.

Basic Cable Top 10 – Prime Time (Total Viewers)

1. ESPN (2,570,000)
2. Fox News (2,178,000)
3. MSNBC (2,064,000)
4. Hallmark Channel (2,034,000)
5. USA (1,223,000)
6. A&E (1,090,000)
7. HGTV (1,066,000)
8. TBS (1,054,000)
9. CNN (1,036,000)
10. History (1,001,000)

Basic cable ranker: Week of... by on Scribd

ABC’s “World News Tonight” topped the evening newscasts with an average of 8.9 million viewers. NBC’s “Nightly News” was second with 8.6 million and the “CBS Evening News” had 6.3 million.

Prime-time Broadcast TV viewership numbers compiled by Nielsen for Dec. 3-9. Listings include the week’s ranking and viewership.

1. NFL Football: L.A. Rams at Chicago, NBC, 19.39 million.
2. “NFL Sunday Post-Game,” Fox, 19.23 million.
3. “NFL Pre-Game,” NBC, 13.63 million.
4. “The Big Bang Theory,” CBS, 12.53 million.
5. “NCIS,” CBS, 12.05 million.
6. NFL Football: Washington at Philadelphia, ESPN, 11.38 million.
7. “Young Sheldon,” CBS, 10.91 million.
8. NFL Football: Jacksonville at Tennessee, Fox, 10.79 million.
9. “FBI,” CBS, 9.72 million.
10. “The Voice” (Monday), NBC, 9 million.

11. “The Voice” (Tuesday), NBC, 8.92 million.
12. “Blue Bloods,” CBS, 8.895 million.
13. “60 Minutes,” CBS, 8.889 million.
14. “Football Night in America,” NBC, 8.64 million.
15. “NCIS: New Orleans,” CBS, 8.33 million.
16. “Chicago Med,” NBC, 7.944 million.
17. “Chicago Fire,” NBC, 7.943 million.
18. “Mom,” CBS, 7.93 million.
19. “Hawaii Five-0,” CBS, 7.81 million.
20. “The Simpsons,” Fox, 7.53 million.