NBC got what it wanted out of its live broadcast of The Sound of Music with country star and American Idol winner Carrie Underwood as Maria. The three-hour broadcast lead NBC to its best non-sports Thursday show since 2009. It was also the most-watched non-sports Thursday broadcast across all four networks since 2011.
The Sound of Music averaged 18.5 million viewers and a big 4.6 18-49 rating. As The Hollywood Reporter notes, the remarkable fact is that early numbers show that it kept a steady audience throughout the night. The highest mark came at the 8:30 pm. point, when it drew a 5.0 and during the last hour, it had a 4.3 rating in the key demo.
All in all, it looks like the aggressive marketing campaign, which included a making of special on the night before Thanksgiving, paid off. According to TheWrap, it helped NBC clinch its most-watched night overall since 2007’s Golden Globes ceremony, which had 20 million viewers. It had the network’s best non-sports Thursday rating since the 2009 ER finale.
In addition, it was the most-watched non-sports Thursday broadcast since the Mach 3, 2011 episode of Fox’s American Idol, which had 25.3 million viewers.
HitFix reports that CBS came in a distant second with 9.5 million viewers. The network’s Big Bang Theory had 15.26 million viewers and a 4.6 18-49 rating.
image: NBC