Fourth of July festivities drew millions of people outside to watch their local fireworks displays, but millions more also took in a show on TV.
NBC had a sizable increase in viewing for its annual Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks special as the United States marked the 250th anniversary of its founding. Fox News also had a strong night on cable — scoring its best-ever ratings for the Independence Day holiday.
Across all platforms (NBC, Telemundo and Peacock) and telecasts, including replays, Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks drew 11.2 million viewers, based on preliminary Nielsen numbers. That’s a 59 percent improvement year to year and the highest total for the special since 2018.
The live airing (8-10 p.m. ET) on NBC drew 5.1 million viewers, up about 42 percent from 3.6 million in 2025 and the highest since 2019. Peacock users more than doubled the amount of time they spent watching the fireworks special vs. last year.
“With our partners at Macy’s, we are proud to have brought viewers around the country together for a night that honored this historic milestone through unforgettable music, inspiring moments and one of the country’s most iconic fireworks traditions,” said Jen Neal, executive vp live events and specials for NBC and Peacock. “A huge thank you to [producer] Jesse Collins Entertainment for their invaluable work in creating such a wonderful celebration.”
Fox News drew 3.3 million viewers in primetime, and 2.2 million for the full day, with slate of coverage of the semiquincentennial. Both are well above the channel’s typical Saturday audience. The peak for Fox News came after primetime, with 5.5 million people watching President Trump’s speech from 11:15-11:45 p.m. ET, based on preliminary Nielsen figures. (CNN averaged 1.2 million viewers in primetime, and MS NOW, which doesn’t air first-run programming on weekend nights, had 317,000.)
Final ratings for July 4, including those for specials on other networks, will be available later in the week.
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