‘Macy’s 4th Of July Fireworks’ Special Inches Up In Ratings Vs Last Year, Drawing 7.6 Million Viewers For NBC & Peacock As Broadcast Ignites Complaints – Update

UPDATED with viewer complaints: Last night’s Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks live special was a success for NBC and Peacock. The special drew 7.6 million viewers across all platforms, making it the most-watched July 4 special since 2021, according to NBC. The fireworks specials have been simulcast on Peacock since 2022. An encore presentation aired at 10 pm ET/PT on NBC.

Hosted by Grammy-nominated country artist Mickey Guyton and Access Hollywood‘s Zuri Hall and featuring musical performances by Amber Clark, Brandy Clark, Lainey Wilson, Luis Fonsi, Guyton, Tanner Adell and War and Treaty, last night’s viewership was up 2% vs last year’s special, NBC says.

With the Golden Globes moving to CBS, NBC doesn’t have major entertainment specials in the first half of the year. Macy’s 4^th of July Fireworks topped the People’s Choice Awards telecast as well as Red Nose Day and specials celebrating Motown and 10 years of Jimmy Fallon at The Tonight Show.

While more viewers tuned in this year, the telecast, which was delayed by several minutes, spawned a flurry of complaints.

“Something is wrong on @nbc, wrote a user on X. “It’s four minutes after the hour and they are stringing network promos together instead of going to programming, Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks. At 6 after, they went to @AGT, instead of scheduled programming. You never see this.”

Another X user wrote, “Was incredibly disappointed with #NBC‘s Coverage of the #Macys 4th of July Fireworks. Very little focus on the actual fireworks and too much on performances.”

“Hey @NBC, why did we need to watch the singers vs the Macys fireworks??!!” asked a user on Threads. Worst fireworks music ever for macys this year. Bunch of people no one knows singing songs that have nothing to do with the fourth. Not showing enough fireworks,” added another user on Threads.

“I used to always watch the #MacysFireworks but I couldn’t sit through it this year,” said an X user. “I knew like 2 of the performers, meh, but then they barely show the actual fireworks. People aren’t tuning in to watch a concert. It’s called ‘Macy’s4th of JulyFireworks’ for a reason.”

Another wrote on X, “This was the most disgraceful telecast for the Macy’s fireworks. NBC horrific job. Did we really need live singers on stage during the show? And how can you miss the grand finale live. Worst was rolling credits during the recorded finale, cause they went to commercial. Brutal”.

To clarify, the credits roll over a replay of the fireworks, not the finale. 

For the first time in over a decade, Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks moved to the west side of Manhattan, launching from barges along the Hudson River. For the past 9 years, the Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks launched out of the East River. The display featured more than 60,000 shells that reached more than 1,000 feet into the sky.

The Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks telecast was produced by Jesse Collins Entertainment with Jesse Collins, Dionne Harmon and Jeannae Rouzan-Clay serving as executive producers.

Nellie Andreeva contributed to this report.