‘Little Mermaid Live!’ made a fairly big splash in the ratings

Critics may not have liked “The Little Mermaid Live!,” but it appears viewers were happy to tune in.

• The presentation, which mixed clips from the animated film and live action performances, averaged about 9 million viewers and a 2.6 rating in the demo, according to initial ratings data.
• That puts the production as the highest rated live musical event since Fox’s “Grease Live” in January 2016.
• It’s also the most watched live musical event since NBC’s “Jesus Christ Superstar: Live in Concert” in April 2018.
• Those numbers put it fourth in modern day live musical demo ratings and seventh overall.
• “Little Mermaid” likely helped ABC win the night in the demo, though CBS won in total viewers, mainly thanks to “NCIS.”
• Read more about “The Little Mermaid Live!” production design here.

The modern concept of live musicals on network TV started back in 2013, when NBC aired “The Sound of Music Live!” for the holiday season. Since then, the genre has delivered uneven numbers:

• Most recently, Fox’s “Rent Live” (which ended up relying mostly on a tape of a dress rehearsal due to a cast member injury), drew a disappointing 1.4 rating in the demo and 3.42 total viewers, making it the lowest rated of recent live musicals.
• Fox also tried “A Christmas Story Live” in December 2017.
• NBC, which started the recent trend of live musicals (that has since fizzled) got 18 million to watch “The Sound of Music Live!” despite a widely panned performance by Carrie Underwood in 2013.
• NBC then tried “Peter Pan Live!” in 2014, which scored a mediocre 9.21 million viewers.
• “The Wiz Live!,” also on NBC, got 11.5 million in 2015 and Fox’s “Grease” pulled in 12.2 million in January 2016.
• Fox then tried “The Passion” in March 2016 delivered a disappointing 6.6 million.
• NBC’s “Hairspray Live!” drew 9 million in December 2016.
• Fox tried to keep the live holiday spirit going with “A Christmas Story: Live” but it only came in at 4.48 million.