Overview
- NBC reported that the 50th Macy’s Fourth of July Fireworks special reached 11.2 million cumulative viewers across NBC, Peacock and Telemundo using preliminary Nielsen-based data.
- The network said total viewership rose 59 percent from 2025 and the 18-49 demographic climbed 96 percent, figures that networks and advertisers prize for measuring audience quality.
- The original 8 p.m. NBC telecast averaged 5.1 million viewers, a 42 percent increase from 2025, and NBC added a new 11:30 p.m. repeat that was included in the cumulative total.
- Peacock viewing hours more than doubled with a 140 percent increase versus last year, a sign that expanded streaming availability helped boost the special’s reach.
- Producers emphasized spectacle and star power as draw factors, citing a 27-minute score by Jason Howland, a Brooklyn Bridge laser show, more than 85,000 shells and performances by artists such as Post Malone and Blake Shelton, and this was the largest audience for the telecast since 2018.