Made with charming stop-motion, the TV special was originally broadcast on NBC in 1964 but moved to CBS in the early 1970s. It centers on Rudolph, an adorable reindeer born with a glowing red nose that makes him ineligible to pull Santa’s sleigh. But, as the story goes, all of that changes on one foggy Christmas Eve. The rest is history.
Improving ever so slightly from last year, CBS’ airing of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer topped the night with adults 18-49, averaging a 3.0 rating in the key demo at 8 p.m. The special helped drive CBS to a nightly win with 18-49-ers (2.5 rating) and second place status among total viewers (11.8 million). After Rudolph, NCIS: L.A. (2.4 adults) came within a tenth of a point of last week, while Person of Interest (2.1 adults) inched upwards by the same measure.
PHOTOS: 81 of Fall TV’s Biggest Stars
Agents of SHIELD (2.5 adults) kicked off ABC’s night, up a tenth of a point at 8 p.m. The drama led into the two-hour finale of Dancing With the Stars, which averaged a 2.4 rating among adults 18-49. The series was six-tenths off from last fall’s ender for its lowest finale to date. ABC netted a 2.4 adults rating and 12.8 million viewers for the night.
The Biggest Loser (2.0 adults) was up a tenth of a point on NBC, while The Voice (2.9 adults) shed three-tenths of a point from last Tuesday’s results. Chicago Fire (2.1 adults) grew by two-tenths, giving NBC a 2.3 rating with adults 18-49 and 7.8 million viewers.
Aside from a dipping Dads (1.2 adults), the Fox comedy lineup was improved or steady. Brooklyn Nine-Nine (1.5 adults) matched last week’s episode, while New Girl (1.9 adults) and The Mindy Project (1.4 adults) both moved up two-tenths. Fox took a 1.5 adults rating and 3.3 million viewers for the night.
Back from a week off, The Originals (1.1 adults) improved a tenth to match a high on The CW. Supernatural (1.0 adults) was also up by a tenth, giving the network a 1.1 adults rating and 2.4 million viewers for the night.
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