Like Lightning! GREASE: LIVE Brings Record Audience to CTV

Like greased lightning! CTV's very big January concluded last night with 1.7 million viewers for GREASE: LIVE preliminary overnight data from Numeris reveals, making it the #1 entertainment program Sunday with total viewers and all key demos. The special peaked with 2.37 million viewers, tuning in to Sandy and Danny's dance solo during "Born To Hand Jive".

GREASE: LIVE was the #1 program Sunday among Females 18-34 and 18-49. More than one in four English Canadians aged 18-34 watching TV Sunday tuned into GREASE: LIVE, while 6.3 million Canadians overall watched some part of the three-hour broadcast.

With playback data still to be released, GREASE: LIVE becomes the most-watched of recent live musicals, delivering more viewers than THE WIZ LIVE! (307,000, City/NBC), PETER PAN LIVE! (475,000 City/NBC) and also THE SOUND OF MUSIC LIVE! (1.2 million City/NBC), topping the Carrie Underwood musical by 49%. Social networks were also abuzz with #GreaseLive trending across Canada on Twitter and Facebook during Sundaynight's live broadcast.

Fans can check back into Rydell High when GREASE: LIVE airs tonight (Feb. 1) at 9:30 p.m. ET on E! and Feb. 5 at 10 p.m. on Much. The top rated special is now available for viewing on demand on CTV.ca and the CTV GO app. The special will also launch exclusively Feb. 19 to subscribers of CraveTV(TM), where it will join the very popular Music Collection.

GREASE: LIVE featured an all-star cast including triple threat Julianne Hough (Safe Haven, Rock of Ages) as Sandy; Aaron Tveit (GRACELAND, Les Miserables) as Danny Zuko; Vanessa Hudgens (Broadway's Gigi, Spring Breakers) as bad girl Rizzo; Keke Palmer (SCREAM QUEENS, MASTERS OF SEX) as Pink Lady Marty Maraschino; Carlos PenaVega (BIG TIME RUSH) as Kenickie; multi-Platinum Grammy(®) Award-nominated singer and songwriter Carly Rae Jepsen as Pink Lady and beauty school dropout Frenchy; Kether Donohue (YOU'RE THE WORST) as Pink Lady Jan; David Del Rio (Spare Parts, THE TROOP) as T-Bird Putzie; Jordan Fisher (TEEN WOLF, THE SECRET LIFE OF THE AMERICAN TEENAGER) as Doody; and Andrew Call (AS THE WORLD TURNS) as Sonny.

The live event also featured cameo appearances by multi-platinum pop superstar Joe Jonas and his pop-disco band DNCE as Johnny Casino and the Gamblers; actor and television host Mario Lopez as Vince Fontaine in the iconic high school dance scene; and Grammy Award(®)-winning R&B group Boyz II Men as Teen Angel, singing "Beauty School Dropout." Plus, two stars from the original 1978 film Grease, Didi Conn (Frenchy) and Barry Pearl (Doody), also made an appearance. English singer-songwriter Jessie J opened the show with a live performance of the program's title track, "Grease (Is The Word)" written by Barry Gibb. Carly Rae Jepsen also performed an original song, "All I Need Is An Angel," composed by Tom Kitt and lyrics by Brian Yorkey. GREASE: LIVE is based on the original 1971 musical "Grease," by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey, and Paramount Pictures' 1978 feature adaptation.

Live television events and CTV go together like rama lamma lamma ka dinga da dinga dong! The ratings success of GREASE: LIVE kicks off CTV's big-buzz schedule in February that includes the biggest TV events of the year including SUPER BOWL 50, the most-watched television event in Canada, on Sunday, Feb. 7. CTV is also home to Hollywood's biggest star-studded event, THE OSCARS(®) airing Sunday, Feb. 28 at 8:30 p.m. ET / 5:30 p.m. PT on CTV.

This month, CTV delivers new season premieres of THE AMAZING RACE (Feb. 12 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on CTV); MASTERCHEF CANADA (Feb. 14 at 7 p.m. ET/PT on CTV) and THE VOICE (Feb. 29 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on CTV Two); as well as new episodes of DC's LEGENDS OF TOMORROW (Thursdays at 8:30 p.m. ET/PT on CTV) - including a new episode to air on special day and time, immediately following SUPER BOWL 50 coverage onSunday, Feb. 7 at approximately 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT. Plus, CTV's hit original drama SAVING HOPE concludes its fourth season with an emotional and dramatic two-hour finale (Feb. 14 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on CTV), culminating in a shocking moment viewers won't want to miss.

GREASE: LIVE is produced by Paramount Television. Acclaimed film, television and theater producer Marc Platt (Wicked, Into the Woods) is the executive producer; Tony Award-nominated director Thomas Kail (Hamilton, In the Heights) is the director overseeing the stage direction and Alex Rudzinski (DANCING WITH THE STARS) serves as the live television director. The live television adaptation is written by Broadway writers Robert Cary (Anything but Love, Ira & Abby) and Jonathan Tolins (Buyer & Cellar, The Last Sunday in June).

CTV is Canada's #1 private broadcaster. Featuring a wide range of quality news, sports, information, and entertainment programming, CTV has been Canada's most-watched television network for the past 14 years in a row. CTV is a division of Bell Media, Canada's premier multimedia company with leading assets in television, radio, digital, and Out-of-Home. Bell Media is owned by BCE Inc. (TSX, NYSE: BCE), Canada's largest communications company. More information about CTV can be found on the network's website at CTV.ca.

Photo Credit: Kevin Estrada/FOX

To post a comment, you must register and login.