Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Draws 25 Million Viewers

NBC's coverage of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade drew over 25 million viewers this year.

Variety reports that the Nielsen fast nationals calculated that a total of 25.4 million viewers tuned into the three-hour special, a combined number from both the first broadcast at 9:00 a.m. and the second at 2:00 p.m. on NBC.

Although this is a slight decrease from 2020's 25.9 million viewers, NBC has reported that the special was still their most-watched entertainment special since the 2020 parade.

The special featured performances from the Broadway casts of Wicked, Moulin Rouge!, and Six. Harry Connick Jr., Celina Smith and the cast of Annie Live also appeared to give a sneak-peek at the upcoming live television musical.

The 95th march of the world-famous Parade of magic featured 15 giant character balloons, 28 floats, 36 novelty and heritage inflatables, more than 800 clowns, 10 marching bands and 9 performance groups, a host of musical stars and the one-and-only Santa Claus.

For decades the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade has been one of the nation's most anticipated and watched holiday celebrations. For the first time, fans were also able to watch livestream coverage on Peacock. Savannah Guthrie, Hoda Kotb and Al Roker from "Today" hosted the three-hour telecast for NBC and Peacock.