Ratings: Dolly Parton’s ‘A Holly Dolly Christmas’ on CBS Warms More Than 6 Million Hearts

Even Jolene watched Dolly Parton’s CBS Christmas special last night. “A Holly Dolly Christmas” drew 6.2 million total viewers on Sunday, making it primetime’s most-watched entertainment show. Why is the “entertainment” distinction here important? Well, because both NFL football and CBS’ newsmagazine program “60 Minutes” attracted more eyeballs on the evening. The special skewed pretty old, as it received just a 0.6 rating/3 share among adults 18-49. Naturally, NBC won with “Sunday Night Football.” Due to the nature of live sports, however, the below Nielsen numbers for NBC and CBS should be considered subject to significant adjustment.

NBC was first in ratings with a 3.3 rating/18 share in the advertiser-coveted 18-49 demographic and in total viewers with an average of 12.2 million, according to preliminary numbers. Those are the initial averages from pregame show “Football Night in America” and the Denver Broncos vs. Kansas City Chiefs primetime game.

CBS was second in ratings with a 1.2/6 and in viewers with 8 million. An afternoon NFL game ran into the 7 o’clock hour with a 3.9/20 and 17.4 million viewers. “60 Minutes” started at 7:30 p.m., when it averaged a 1.5/8 and 10.7 million viewers. Following the Dolly Parton Christmas special, “NCIS: Los Angeles” got a 0.5/3 and 4.4 million viewers between 9:30 and 10:30. A second episode, coded a special, followed with a 0.4/2 and 3.8 million viewers.

ABC and Fox tied for third in ratings, both with a 0.5/3. ABC was third in total viewers with 3.1 million, Fox was fourth was 1.7 million.

For ABC, “America’s Funniest Home Videos” at 7 had a 0.6/3 and 4.7 million viewers. “Supermarket Sweep” at 8 got a 0.6/3 and 2.8 million viewers. “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” at 9 received a 0.5/2 and 2.9 million viewers. At 10, “Card Sharks” finished off primetime to a 0.3/2 and 1.8 million viewers. For Fox, following reruns, “The Simpsons” at 8 had a 0.5/3 and 1.6 million viewers. At 8:30, “Bless the Harts” got a 0.4/2 and 1.1 million viewers. “Bob’s Burgers” at 9 received a 0.5/3 and 1.2 million viewers. At 9:30, “Family Guy” landed a 0.6/3 and 1.4 million viewers.

Univision and Telemundo tied for fifth in ratings, both with a 0.3/2. Univision was fifth in total viewers with 896,000, Telemundo was sixth with 883,000.

The CW was seventh in ratings with a 0.1/0 and in viewers with 459,000. “Pandora” at 8 had a 0.1/0 and 364,000 viewers. At 9, “The Outpost” got a 0.1/0 and 350,000 viewers.