The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade has been on the upswing within the post-pandemic streaming period, and this 12 months was no exception. The vacation staple for NBC and its streaming sibling Peacock reached a document 31.3 million viewers on Thursday as Individuals took within the annual Thanksgiving vacation with a dollop of TV custom.

The 98th version of the retail large’s annual parade of marching bands, Broadway troupes, celebrities, floats and large inflatable balloons by Manhattan grabbed and spectacular 23.6 million viewers in its stay airing on NBC alone from 8:30 a.m. to midday ET. That was sturdy sufficient to make the parade the most-watched leisure particular on linear TV since ABC’s Academy Awards telecast in February 2020.

“The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is an occasion during which we take monumental pleasure, and it’s an absolute pleasure to know that there was a document variety of folks watching throughout each NBC and Peacock,” stated Jen Neal, govt VP of stay occasions and specials for NBCU Leisure. “The parade is a convention like no different. 12 months after 12 months, it’s the easiest way to kick off the vacation season, and we’re thrilled to be part of it with our companions at Macy’s.”

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Whole viewership of the parade elevated a strong 10% from 2023. Streaming hours logged by the parade telecast through Peacock climbed by 26% from final 12 months, per NBC.

The stay telecast averaged a 5.4 ranking within the adults 18-49 demographic — the very best mark for an leisure telecast since ABC’s “Dick Clark’s New 12 months’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest” in 2021.

“The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is a beloved custom that yearly marks the start of the vacation season. Macy’s is honored to deliver this iconic expertise to life and create moments of inspiration and pleasure by world-class leisure that solely we are able to ship for our clients and the nation,” stated Will Coss, govt producer of the parade.

The excessive turnout for the Macy’s parade delivered a lift for the Nationwide Canine Present introduced by Purina, one other Turkey-day custom for NBC. The pooch recognition contest introduced in 12.2 million viewers throughout all platforms — a achieve of 5% from final 12 months.

General, NBC had a Thursday to have fun. Within the night, the particular Thanksgiving version of “Sunday Evening Soccer,” which noticed the Miami Dolphins shiver by a 17-30 loss at Inexperienced Bay, pulled in 26.6 million viewers. The nightcap of “The Tonight Present Starring Jimmy Fallon” delivered that present’s highest whole viewer quantity (2.8 million) since final 12 months’s Thanksgiving-night episode. The identical was true for “Late Evening With Seth Meyers” (1.5 million).

The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade broadcast is produced for NBC by Silent Home Productions. Baz Halpin, Mark Bracco and Linda Gierahn are govt producers. Sacha Mueller is co-executive producer.