 NBC showed a two-hour special of Deal or No Deal on Monday night |
Game show Deal or No Deal won the Christmas Day ratings battle on US TV, the Hollywood Reporter has claimed. The programme, hosted by Howie Mandel, was seen by 16.4m viewers, according to estimates by Nielsen Media Research.
It was screened on NBC, the only major American network to broadcast new programmes on Monday evening.
Another NBC quiz, 1 vs 100, was second with 11.9m, followed by a repeat of CSI: Miami and the film Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl.
The forensics drama was broadcast by CBS, while the Pirates movie - starring Johnny Depp and Keira Knightley - was part of ABC's Christmas schedule.
It was NBC's best Christmas Day performance for nine years and the highest audience on any 25 December since 2000, the publication added.