Preliminary Analysis: With Thanksgiving out of the way, the broadcast networks immediately transitioned to airing their respective animated holiday specials. As usual, NBC's presentation of 'How the Grinch Stole Christmas' (0.7) beat out the other offerings but was down markedly from the 1.1 rating it posted in December 2019. 'Grinch' led into a brand-new 'Minions Holiday Special' (0.7) that fully retained its lead-in and topped the 8:30 half-hour. The peacock network closed out a dominant night with a 'Dateline' repeat (0.5). 'Frosty the Snowman' (0.5) and 'Frosty Returns' (0.4) each shed two-tenths from their year-ago broadcasts on CBS. They led into a 'Pet Project' special (0.3) and 'Blue Bloods' encore (0.3). ABC's 'Santa Claus is Comin' to Town' (0.5) also lost two-tenths when compared to last year (0.7). The special led into an original '20/20' (0.4) that was down 33% from the week prior (0.6). The CW had its strongest Friday in a while with its presentation of 'Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer' (0.2). The special inched down from the last time it aired (0.3) but bested its 'World's Funniest Animals' (0.1/0.1) lead-in. Fox stayed out of the holiday special business, opting to air another installment of 'WWE Smackdown' (0.6).
Finals Update: 'Santa Claus is Comin' to Town' (+0.1), 'Frosty the Snowman' (+0.1), and 'Frosty Returns' (+0.1) adjusted up.
Key:
(R) = repeat
