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The Wiz Live Tops Peter Pan, Trails The Sound of Music

The Wiz Live! Ratings: Strong Performance, Falls Short of Sound of Music Live

THE WIZ LIVE! -- Pictured: (l-r) Ne-Yo as Tin-Man, Shanice Williams as Dorothy, Elijah Kelley as Scarecrow -- (Photo by: Virginia Sherwood/NBC)

NBC’s live musical event The Wiz Live! delivered a notable ratings performance on Thursday night, outperforming last year’s Peter Pan Live! while falling short of the audience drawn by 2013’s The Sound of Music Live. The Wiz Live! averaged a 3.3 rating in the key 18–49 demographic and drew approximately 11.14 million viewers. By comparison, Peter Pan Live! previously earned a 2.4 in 18–49 with 9.21 million viewers, while The Sound of Music Live in 2013 registered a much higher 4.6 rating and 18.62 million viewers.

Record-Breaking Social Engagement and Thursday Night Impact

Beyond traditional ratings, The Wiz Live! became the most social live special in Nielsen’s Twitter TV history (excluding awards shows and political events), a span that dates back to October 2011. In total tweets, The Wiz Live! surpassed the combined Twitter activity generated by The Sound of Music Live and Peter Pan Live!. In addition to its social success, the telecast delivered the highest-rated non-sports Thursday for any network in more than a year, underscoring the continued audience interest in large-scale live television musicals.

Overall Audience Totals and Context

The Wiz Live! reported an average audience of 11.14 million viewers with a 3.3 rating among adults 18–49. Networks typically measure success both by raw viewers and by the 18–49 demo, which is especially valuable to advertisers. While The Wiz did not match the exceptional numbers posted by The Sound of Music Live in 2013, its figures outpaced several competing programs in its time period and marked a clear improvement over recent NBC live musical outings.

It’s also important to note that The Wiz Live! ended 15 minutes earlier than scheduled, which suggests final consolidated ratings could tick up slightly when delayed viewing and time-shifted metrics are tabulated.

Primetime Comparison — Key Programs and Ratings

Thursday night’s primetime competition included Thursday Night Football on CBS, ABC holiday programming, and repeats on other networks. Below is a concise summary of the prime-time lineup and the key ratings reported for the evening, organized by half-hour intervals to reflect shifting audience totals across the telecast.

8:00 p.m. Hour

  • NBC — The Wiz Live!: 12.08 million viewers, A18–49: 3.2/11 (ranked #1 at 8:00)
  • CBS — Thursday Night Football Pregame: 10.30 million viewers, A18–49: 2.4/8
  • ABC — Toy Story That Time Forgot (repeat): 4.03 million viewers, A18–49: 0.9/3
  • FOX — Bones (repeat): 3.45 million viewers, A18–49: 0.5/2
  • CW — The Vampire Diaries: 1.32 million viewers, A18–49: 0.5/2

8:30 p.m. Half-Hour

  • CBS — Thursday Night Football (8:30–11 p.m.): 14.17 million viewers, A18–49: 3.5/11
  • NBC — The Wiz Live!: 11.99 million viewers, A18–49: 3.5/12 (tied for #1 in demo)
  • ABC — Shrek the Halls (repeat): 4.18 million viewers, A18–49: 1.0/3

9:00–9:30 p.m. Window

  • CBS — Thursday Night Football: 13.60–12.81 million viewers across the half-hour blocks, A18–49 roughly 3.7–3.5
  • NBC — The Wiz Live!: 11.60–11.35 million viewers, A18–49 about 3.5–3.4 (held top positions across segments)
  • ABC — CMA Country Christmas: roughly 5.75–5.93 million viewers, A18–49 around 1.0–0.9

10:00–10:30 p.m. Window

  • CBS — Thursday Night Football: 11.82–12.27 million viewers, A18–49 near 3.3–3.6
  • NBC — The Wiz Live!: 10.85 million at 10:00 p.m. (A18–49: 3.3/11) and 8.94 million at 10:30 p.m. (A18–49: 2.7/9)
  • ABC — CMA Country Christmas: 5.79–5.45 million viewers, A18–49 approximately 0.9

Source: Nielsen Media Research. Half-hour breakdown compiled from industry reporting for the December telecast.

Why These Ratings Matter

Live special events—particularly live musicals—remain a strategic programming choice for networks. They generate appointment viewing, social conversation, and advertiser interest. The Wiz Live!’s strong social engagement and solid 18–49 performance demonstrate that live musical events can still attract meaningful audiences and create cultural moments, even if they do not always reach the exceptional peaks set by earlier tentpole specials.

As networks plan future live events, The Wiz Live! serves as a reminder that a compelling creative execution combined with social media engagement can boost both ratings and overall visibility. Final, consolidated ratings may adjust slightly once all delayed and streaming viewing is included, but the initial numbers confirm that The Wiz Live! was a ratings and social media success relative to recent live musicals.