Not only do Americans like to buy Adele’s albums, they love seeing her perform too, at least based on the ratings of NBC’s Adele Live In New York City Last Night.
NBC kicked off the night with a two-hour episode of The Voice, which was the final performance episode of its fall season. The Nielsen numbers, posted at TVByTheNumbers, show that The Voice averaged 13.91 million viewers and a 3.2 rating in the 18-49 demographic.
Adele Live earned 11.25 million viewers and a 3.0 rating in the 18-49 demo. As Variety notes, it was the highest-rated music special since NBC’s Eagles Farewell Tour earned a 3.1 in June 2005. It was the most-watched NBC musical special since Cher: Farewell Tour, which had 16.6 million viewers in April 2003.
It’s clear that the money NBC is pouring into holiday season specials is paying off. The Wiz Live! did incredibly well on Dec. 3 with 11.5 million viewers, despite airing against an NFL game. Dolly Parton’s Coat of Many Colors earned 13.03 million viewers last week. Christmas in Rockefeller Center drew 8.07 million viewers.
The Adele special was recorded at New York’s Radio City Music Hall. If you didn’t get to watch it, you can check it out below: