NEW YORK, Nov. 27 (Xinhua) -- The live broadcast of Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City by the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) remains a strong attraction, although entertainment programs have struggled in recent years as more and more viewers abandon traditional television and migrate to streaming.
The parade has delivered virtually the same audience since the late 1980s, about 20 million viewers each year. Last year, when viewership from an encore telecast and the Peacock streaming service was tallied up, the parade audience ballooned to over 28 million viewers, a new high, reported The New York Times on Wednesday.
"Other than some sporting events or marquee NFL games, which can draw more than 30 million viewers, maintaining an audience, or even growing it, is a rarity in television these days. Award shows like the Oscars, Grammys and Emmys have had seesawing ratings in recent years that are well short of their heights from a decade or two ago," the report noted.
This year's parade on Thursday will feature nearly a dozen marching bands, and yet, if history is any guide, the parade will draw more viewers than the Oscars, the Yankees-Dodgers World Series or the most popular New Year's Eve telecast, according to the report.
The across-the-board appeal is of high interest to advertisers. Last year, NBC charged sponsors an average of 865,000 U.S. dollars for 30 seconds of commercial time, and this year it's charging nearly 900,000 dollars, according to Guideline, an advertising data firm. That's a higher rate than most live entertainment events. Only the Oscars command a bigger ad rate.
