A Charlie Brown Christmas has been around since 1965 and is still drawing viewers by the millions. The popular cartoon aired on ABC last night to a ratings victory in the 8 p.m. ET timeslot, and increased its viewership 4 percent from last year. Ratings, Charlie Brown, that’s what Christmas is all about.
With a 2.9 rating in the 18-49 demographic, the much-loved tale of Charlie Brown’s search for the true meaning of Christmas won its timeslot, although it was something of a slim victory, as Survivor: Philippines on CBS drew a 2.7 and Fox’s The X Factor came in at a 2.8. Still, for a special that’s been around for 47 years and for one most of us have seen so many times we could recite the script by heart, that’s pretty good. The Peanuts gang also outperformed two other holiday television traditions. NBC’s Christmas in Rockefeller Center and SNL Christmas specials came in with 2.1 and 2.7 ratings respectively. That marks the highest ratings in four years for Rockefeller.
The night wasn’t all about the holiday specials though, Modern Family took the highest ratings for the evening with a 4.7 rating in the coveted timeslot, and the majority of the shows that aired last night saw a climb in the ratings (not surprising since last week viewership was down due to the Thanksgiving holiday). The X Factor did especially well, up 27 percent, and Survivor was up 17 percent. In the end, neither could out-do Charlie Brown and his sad little Christmas tree. The special tied Criminal Minds for second-highest rated of the night. Those shows that didn’t see an increase, according to EW were Nashville and Arrow, both steady, and Supernatural, which was down a bit.
