The Dallas Cowboys weren’t the only big winners on Thursday afternoon. The network’s broadcast of the New York Giants taking on the Dallas Cowboys raked in 42 million viewers or about 13% of the U.S. population. Between traditional viewership and streaming figures, this year’s NFC East showdown on Thanksgiving is the most-watched regular season NFL contest in recorded history. The record was previously held by the New York Giants and San Francisco 49ers. In December 1990, the NFC titans pulled in 41.5 million viewers.
FOX was not the only network to experience success on Thanksgiving. Nearly 32 million viewers watched the Bills earn a last-minute victory against the Lions, a record for the early Thanksgiving game. Elsewhere, approximately 26 million viewers watched the Minnesota Vikings take down the New England Patriots, the second-highest tally on record for the primetime Thanksgiving game.
Beyond the scope of football and the NFL, the 96th Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade drew 27.7 million viewers via NBC and Peacock. In comparison, the parade pulled in 27.4 million viewers across all platforms last year.
“The parade was Peacock’s most popular entertainment simulstream event ever, more than doubling reach for the 2021 parade,” NBC stated.
In the end, the 96th Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade stands as the most-watched parade in five years.
