CBS’ New Year’s Eve Live: Nashville’s Big Bash was named the No. 1 country program of 2023. Nashville’s Big Bash averaged 8.31 million viewers between 7:30-10 pm on 12/31/23 (more than doubling its primetime audience from 2022), The show, hosted by Entertainment Tonight’s Rachel Smith and Elle King, was CBS’s most-watched original entertainment special since The 65th Annual Grammy Awards last February.

New Year’s Eve Live: Nashville’s Big Bash was live-streamed on Paramount+ and CBS and was the No. 1 live-streamed entertainment program of the day on the service on both reach and time spent. Live streaming on Paramount+ and CBS TVE was up +100% from last year’s live streaming.

Nashville also saw an increase of in-person attendance at its ‘Big Bash’ as well, with an estimated 215,000 fans gathered at Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park to ring in the new year with headliners Thomas Rhett, Lainey Wilson, and Lynyrd Skynyrd.  The night also featured Old Dominion, who performed live from the official watch party at Brooklyn Bowl Nashville in NYC, as well as performances from Trace Adkins, Grace Bowers, Kane Brown, Jackson Dean, Old Dominion, Hardy, Elle King, Cody Johnson, Parker McCollum, Megan Moroney, Brothers Osborne, Jon Pardi, Carly Pearce, Thomas Rhett, Blake Shelton, Trombone Shorty, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Morgan Wallen, Lainey Wilson and Bailey Zimmerman.

The other top country shows of 2023 were: The CMA Awards (6.84 m), CMT Awards (5.64 m), CMA Fest (3.65 m), People’s Choice Country Awards (3.90 m), NBC’s Christmas at The Opry (4.44 m), CMA Country Christmas (4.49 m) and CMA Fest: 50 Years of Fan Fair (1.77 m).

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