Disney Draws Nearly 50 Million Viewers for July 4th Programming Event
Disney Celebrates America was also the No. 1 non-sports most social program across broadcast and cable on July 4.
According to Nielsen same-day data, 49.6 million Total Viewers tuned into the 24-hour programming block “Disney Celebrates America,” which kicked off Friday, July 3, and continued through Saturday, July 4, in commemoration of the nation’s historic 250th anniversary.
“World News Tonight” anchor and managing editor David Muir led the coverage alongside a team of national and local news talent, featuring 70 live remotes and reporting from all 50 states. Coverage included stories about local celebrations and hometown heroes, along with an exploration of the seven natural wonders of America.
The programming event, which was available across ABC, Disney+, ESPN+, Hulu, National Geographic, Freeform, FX and ABC News Live, culminated in Nashville’s Star-Spangled Bash, a three-hour live special from downtown Nashville, Tennessee, hosted by Emmy®Award-winner Ryan Seacrest.
Highlights included America the Beautiful, which kicked off the 24-hour broadcast with Muir reporting from atop the Statue of Liberty. The program, airing on the evening of July 3, was the No. 1 non-sports telecast of the night in Total Viewers (3.880 million), Adults 18-49 (0.34 rating) and Adults 25-54 (0.46 rating) and stood as ABC’s top non-sports performance in Total Viewers in the time period in over two and a half years, since 11/3/23.
Kicking off at 5 a.m. (EDT) on July 4th, Disney’s live coverage led non-sports TV broadcasting throughout the day, with “Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest” (12:30-1 p.m. EDT) delivering 5.017 million Total Viewers and a 0.68 rating among Adults 18-49, vaulting to an all-time high in Total Viewers.
“7 Wonders of America” (1-3 p.m. EDT) posted 4.508 million Total Viewers and a 0.40 rating among Adults 18-49, making ABC the #1 non-sports network in the time period across broadcast and cable.
As beloved ABC News anchors explored the Grand Canyon, Niagara Falls, Yellowstone National Park and more paired with National Geographic Explorers, the special was the #1 non-sports telecast in the time period, outdelivering the combined averages of Fox News Channel (2.260 million), CNN (590,000) and MSNOW (433,000) in the time period by +37% (4.508 million vs. 3.283 million).
Capping off the day, the Ryan Seacrest-hosted special “Nashville’s Star-Spangled Bash” (8-11 p.m. EDT) in collaboration with the Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp (NCVC) and ITV America Nashville, delivered 5.435 million Total Viewers and a 0.83 rating among Adults 18-49. The telecast peaked during the 10:45-11:00 p.m. quarter hour during the fireworks spectacular with 6.165 million Total Viewers and a 0.99 rating in Adults 18-49.
ABC’s “Nashville’s Star-Spangled Bash” ranked No. 1 in primetime across all of television, outperforming NBC in Total Viewers (+24% - 5.435 million vs. 4.381 million), which included the “Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks” (4.935 million from 8-10 p.m.) and a one-hour encore of the fireworks special (3.272 million from 10-11 p.m.).
With ABC’s primetime victory, this marks the first time that any network topped NBC in primetime on July 4 in 16 years — since 7/4/10. In addition, with “Nashville’s Star-Spangled Bash,” ABC turned in its strongest 4th of July primetime performance in 26 years — since 7/4/00.
“Disney Celebrates America” was the No. 1 most social program (non-sports) across broadcast and cable on July 4, seeing 1.2 million total social interactions.
Photo Credit: Disney/Tanner Yeager
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