Dolly Parton continues to be a beloved icon — if ratings for the recent tribute specials across four different networks are any indication. ABC, CBS, NBC and The CW all attracted decent-sized crowds for quickly-scheduled specials that aired in late August — not particularly a time for major viewership.
Among the highlights, ABC aired a repeat of the 1980 film “9 to 5” (a rarity in itself, for a broadcast network to run a movie that old) on Sunday, Aug. 30 that averaged 4.275 million viewers in live+same day ratings — the most-watched film on a broadcast network in more than three and a half years (since December 2022). It was also the most-watched film on ABC in nearly six years, since Dec. 20, 2020 (another classic, “The Sound of Music”).
Parton died of cancer on Aug. 25 at age 80. That same day, ABC aired the ABC News-produced “Dolly Parton: An American Original — Special Edition of 20/20,” hosted by “World News Tonight” anchor David Muir, which averaged 4.051 million total viewers in L+SD. That made it No. 1 in its 10 p.m. time slot (beating CBS’ Parton special in that same slot) and was the best non-sports telecast at 10 p.m. in three months (since May, with NBC’s “Chicago P.D.” season finale).
