Broadcast primetime live + same-day ratings for Wednesday, Dec. 23, 2015.
The numbers for Wednesday:
| Time | Show | Adults 18-49 Rating/Share | Viewers (millions) |
| 8 p.m. | Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas (NBC) – R | 1.2/5 | 4.92 |
| I Love Lucy Christmas Special (CBS) – S | 1.1/5 | 7.40 | |
| The Middle (ABC) – R | 0.9/4 | 4.13 | |
| Empire (FOX) – R | 0.5/2 | 1.85 | |
| Arrow (The CW) – R | 0.3/1 | 1.16 | |
| 8:30 p.m. | The Goldbergs (ABC) – R | 0.9/3 | 3.42 |
| How Murray Saved Christmas (NBC) – R | 0.9/3 | 3.56 | |
| 9 p.m. | Adele Live in New York City (NBC) – R | 1.1/4 | 5.03 |
| Modern Family (ABC) – R | 1.0/4 | 3.84 | |
| Hawaii Five-0 (CBS) – R | 0.7/3 | 4.89 | |
| Rosewood (FOX) – R | 0.4/1 | 1.79 | |
| Supernatural (The CW) – R | 0.3/1 | 0.87 | |
| 9:30 p.m. | Black-ish (ABC) – R | 0.8/3 | 3.27 |
| 10 p.m. | Criminal Minds (CBS) – R | 0.9/4 | 5.00 |
| Fresh Off the Boat (ABC) – R | 0.7/3 | 2.74 | |
| Michael Buble’s Christmas in Holywood (NBC) – R | 0.6/2 | 3.50 | |
| 10:30 p.m. | Black-ish (ABC) – R | 0.6/2 | 2.58 |
While America was busy celebrating Festivus, the TV ratings for Wednesday night were predictably pretty small. A pair of specials that each aired at least a half-century ago topped the night.
“Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas” (1.2) on NBC scored the best 18-49 rating of the night, while CBS’ “I Love Lucy Christmas Special” — consisting of two colorized episodes from the 1950s — tied a repeat of “Adele Live in New York City” for second at 1.1. A “Modern Family” rerun on ABC was the only other show to break 1.0.
Network averages:
| CBS | NBC | ABC | FOX | CW | |
| Adults 18-49 rating/share | 0.9/4 | 0.9/4 | 0.8/3 | 0.4/2 | 0.3/1 |
| Total Viewers (millions) | 5.76 | 4.26 | 3.33 | 1.82 | 1.02 |
Late-night metered market results (adults 18-49, households):
11:35 p.m.
“The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” – R: 0.8/4, 2.5/6
“Jimmy Kimmel Live” – R: 0.5/2, 1.8/4
“Late Show with Stephen Colbert” – R: 0.4/2, 1.8/4
12:35 a.m.
“Late Night with Seth Meyers” – R: 0.5/3, 1.3/4
“Nightline”: 0.3/2, 1.2/4
“Late Late Show with James Corden” – R: 0.3/2, 0.9/3
Definitions:
Rating: Estimated percentage of the universe of TV households (or other specified group) tuned to a program in the average minute. Ratings are expressed as a percent.
Fast Affiliate Ratings: These first national ratings are available at approximately 11 a.m. ET the day after telecast. The figures may include stations that did not air the entire network feed, as well as local news breaks or cutaways for local coverage or other programming. Fast Affiliate ratings are not as useful for live programs and are likely to differ significantly from the final results, because the data reflect normal broadcast feed patterns.
Share (of Audience): The percent of households (or persons) using television who are tuned to a specific program, station or network in a specific area at a specific time.
Time Shifted Viewing: Program ratings for national sources are produced in three streams of data – Live, Live +Same-Day and Live +7 Day. Time-shifted figures account for incremental viewing that takes place with DVRs. Live+SD includes viewing during the same broadcast day as the original telecast, with a cut-off of 3 a.m. local time when meters transmit daily viewing to Nielsen for processing. Live +7 ratings include viewing that takes place during the 7 days following a telecast.
Source: The Nielsen Company.
