Tens of millions of Americans will cluster together this weekend to celebrate Thanksgiving traditions, which for many will include flipping on the TV to one (or more) of a number of popular holiday programs, including the 98th annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, National Dog Show and a handful of NFL games.
The Charlie Brown balloon floats behind the turkey during the 90th Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day ... [+]
The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade drew its biggest ever audience last year when 28.5 million people watched the festivities on NBC—up 6% from the year before— making it the most-watched entertainment program of the year on linear TV.
An average of 34.1 million viewers watched last year’s three Thanksgiving NFL games, toppling the previous year's 33.6 million record to become the highest Thanksgiving Day average in history.
More than 20 million people watch the National Dog Show each Thanksgiving.
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The classic holiday movie will not be available on standard television this year despite airing on CBS, PBS and ABC in the past because Apple acquired the rights in 2020. "A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving" is available to watch on Apple TV+, and nonmembers can sign up for a seven-day free trial to stream the film.
The 98th Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and telecast will start at 8:30 a.m. EST Thursday, Nov. 28 in New York City. The parade can be watched on NBC or the Peacock streaming service, and an encore telecast will be shown at 2 p.m. The parade will feature 39 giant balloons and 22 floats, including brand new character balloons featuring Minnie Mouse, Extraordinary Noorah and The Elf on the Shelf, Gabby from “Gabby’s Dollhouse,” Goku from “Dragon Ball,” Marshall from “Paw Patrol” and Spider-Man. Performers and special guests expected to appear include Charli D’Amelio, Dan + Shay, Idina Menzel, The Temptations, T-Pain, Jennifer Hudson and “Wicked” star Cynthia Erivo, among others. .
There will be three NFL games shown on Thanksgiving Day and another on Black Friday. The Chicago Bears will play the Detroit Lions at 12:30 p.m. EST Thursday on CBS, the New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys will kick off at 4:30 p.m on FOX and the Miami Dolphins and Green Bay Packers will play at 8:20 p.m. on NBC. The Bears game will be streamed live on Paramount+ with Showtime for subscribers and the Dolphins game will stream live on Peacock for subscribers. This year's Thanksgiving halftime show performers are Shaboozey, Lainey Wilson and Lindsey Stirling. The Las Vegas Raiders and Kansas City Chiefs will play at 3 p.m. on Black Friday in a game streamed via Amazon Prime.
Four college football games will air Thanksgiving:. Tuskegee will play Alabama State at 2 p.m. EST on ESPNU and Memphis v. Tulane will air at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN. Kent State will play Buffalo at 7 p.m. on ESPN+ and Toledo plays Akron at 7 p.m. on ESPN2. More than a dozen games will take place Friday, and some of college football's biggest rivalries will be among the dozens to take to the gridiron Saturday, including Tennessee and Vanderbilt (noon EST on ABC and ESPN+), Michigan and Ohio State (noon on FOX) and Texas v. Texas A&M (8 p.m. on ABC and ESPN+).
Longtime hosts John O'Hurley and David Frei will host the National Dog Show on NBC for the 23rd year in a row starting at 12 p.m. EST on Thursday. It will also stream on Peacock for subscribers. A new dog breed, the Lancashire heeler, will participate for the first time, bringing the total number of breeds represented to 205. Last year's Best in Show award went to a sealyham terrier named Stache.
The weekend after Thanksgiving officially kicks off Christmas movie season. Hallmark has been releasing original films since October. The network will put out six new films between Thanksgiving and the Sunday after, including the much-anticipated "Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story," said to be inspired by the real-life romance of Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift. “Debbie Macomber’s Joyful Christmas Miracle” will air Thursday night and “A Chief’s Love Story” premiers at 8 p.m. EST Saturday. (Here is a complete guide to all of Hallmark's new holiday films for 2024.) Netflix will release its next holiday original, "Our Little Secret” starring Lindsay Lohan and Ian Harding, on Wednesday.
$1,072. That's the average price per seat for the Texas A&M and University of Texas game on Saturday, the most expensive college football matchup of all time. It will be the first time the rival teams play each other in 13 years.
Apple TV+ will make "A Charlie Brown Christmas" free for anybody to stream—even without signing up for the free trial—on Dec. 14 and 15.