Airing against blocks of repeats on the rest of the broadcast networks, NBC's telecast of the Macy's 4th of July Fireworks Spectacular was Thursday's lone original offering. The two-hour special, expanded from last summer's one-hour offering, averaged a 1.5 rating among adults 18-49. And while that's down two-tenths of a point from 2012, the show was actually up two-tenths in the common 9 p.m. hour.
Adding a recap special of the fireworks at 10 p.m., NBC averaged a 1.4 rating among adults 18-49 and 6.6 million viewers for the night.
Among repeat competition, CBS fared the best with an 0.8 adults rating and 4.3 million viewers, followed by Fox (0.6 adults, 1.8 million) and ABC (0.4 adults, 2.2 million).
Wednesday's ratings are still subject to adjustment, but audience dips on the holiday eve saw Big Brother (1.6 adults) drop six-tenths of a point from last week to a series low on CBS. The American Baking Competition (1.2 adults) held steady at 10 p.m.
ABC's burn-off of Family Tools (0.6 adults) was also at a series low, falling one-tenth of a point from last week. The Lookout (0.7 adults) dropped two-tenths of a point at 10 p.m.
