The hills were alive: NBC posts huge numbers for “The Sound of Music”

From The New York Times:

NBC’s gamble of filling an entire night with live musical theater paid off handsomely Thursday as “The Sound of Music,” with Carrie Underwood in the Julie Andrews role of Maria, posted the network’s best entertainment ratings for a Thursday night since 2009.

In preliminary ratings, the special pulled in 18.5 million viewers, the best number for any entertainment show on NBC this season, and an excellent 4.6 rating in the most important category for advertisers, viewers aged 18 to 49.

Nothing on NBC — other than sports — has done as well on a Thursday night since April 2, 2009, when it aired the finale of “E.R.” In terms of a three-hour average audience, NBC has not done as well since May 13, 2004, a night that included the finale of “Frasier,” which attracted over 22 million viewers.

And what do you know: the production now has its own Wikipedia page.