'Grease: Live' Defies Ratings Expectations; Spells Good News For Fox

Twenty-First Century Fox Inc (NASDAQ: FOXA)'s first foray into the world of live event musicals was a rocking success, as the network's adaptation of "Grease" won over both fans and critics alike.

While early fast national numbers (which only take into account the top markets) had "Grease: Live" doing well, the actual numbers showed a significant boost. The musical starring Aaron Tveit, Julianne Hough and Vanessa Hudgens was seen by 12.2 million viewers and scored a demo rating of a 4.3.

The live event musical is a relatively new trend for the major networks that was initially brought back in 2013 by Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ: CMCSA)'s NBC. As a result, analysts and investors don't have a ton of results to compare "Grease" to, but the ones they do have show impressive metrics.

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'Grease' Slides In Right Behind 'Sound Of Music'

The three-hour live adaption topped both of NBC's recent stagings of "The Wiz" in 2015 (11.5 million/3.4) and "Peter Pan" in 2014 (9.2 million/2.4). Less surprising is that NBC's
2013 "The Sound of Music" remains the most watched of the group with 18.6 million viewers and a 4.6 demo.

What's important to note with "Grease's" numbers is that while it trailed "Sound," it did so by just 6 percent in the demo. Investors also need to take into account "Sound" was the first of the new live musical trend and had the benefit of being headlined by Carrie Underwood. All told, "Grease: Live" defied a lot of expectations and came much closer to "Sound" than anyone expected.

Both NBC and Fox aren't done with the genre, as they each have at least one other live event scheduled for 2016. Fox will air its religious themed "The Passion" tied to Easter and NBC will adapt "Hairspray" in the fall.

Image Credit: Public Domain