Dolly Parton Tribute Ratings Surge as ABC’s ‘9 to 5’ Rebroadcast Attracts Huge Audience

Television networks rarely coordinate so swiftly or extensively to pay tribute to a single public figure, but the response following Dolly Parton’s passing has highlighted the profound impact of her legacy across generations and platforms. What started as a series of quickly organized tribute specials has transformed into one of the most significant collective broadcast events of the year.

Parton passed away from cancer on August 25 at the age of 80, and within hours, all four major broadcast networks rushed to create tribute programming celebrating her extensive career. This immediate reaction has continued to yield impressive ratings well over a week later, with a fresh wave of specials over the weekend achieving some of the highest broadcast numbers seen in years.

Among the highlights was ABC’s decision to rebroadcast the 1980 film ‘9 to 5’ on Sunday, August 30, a notable occurrence given how rare it has become for broadcast networks to air films of that age. The rebroadcast averaged 4.275 million viewers in live-plus-same-day ratings, making it the most-watched film on a broadcast network in over three and a half years, since December 2022, and the most-watched film on ABC in nearly six years, since the 2020 airing of ‘The Sound of Music.’

On the same Sunday, ABC also aired ‘Dolly Parton: An American Original,’ which attracted an additional 3.566 million viewers. Meanwhile, CBS, buoyed by a strong lead-in from ’60 Minutes,’ saw its ‘Entertainment Tonight’ special ‘Remembering Dolly: A Rhinestone Life’ average 5.326 million viewers, hosted by ‘ET’ anchors Kevin Frazier and Nischelle Turner, featuring tributes from stars like Dionne Warwick, Melissa Etheridge, Diane Warren, Debbie Allen, and Jennifer Nettles.

This Sunday programming followed a rapid initial response the night Parton’s death was announced. ABC News’ special edition of ’20/20,’ titled ‘Dolly Parton: An American Original,’ aired that evening, hosted by ‘World News Tonight’ anchor David Muir, drawing 4.05 million total viewers and marking the strongest non-sports 10 p.m. broadcast telecast on any network in three months. CBS’s own same-night special, ‘Dolly Parton: An American Icon,’ hosted by Gayle King and Tony Dokoupil, attracted an even larger 6.2 million same-day viewers.

The surge in tribute viewership extended beyond traditional broadcast ratings. ‘9 to 5,’ which marked Parton’s feature film acting debut alongside Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin, quickly ascended to the top of streaming charts, reaching number one on JustWatch’s daily U.S. streaming rankings within a day of her death and maintaining that position for a second consecutive day.

This resurgence was partly facilitated by Philo, which opened up free streaming access to the film that week as a tribute gesture. The film, which originally grossed $103 million at the box office upon its 1980 release, remains one of Parton’s most cherished big-screen roles, alongside later films like ‘The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas’ and ‘Steel Magnolias.’

Disney also reported that its own ’20/20′ tribute special became the most-viewed title across both Disney+ and Hulu once it became available on those streaming platforms the day after its broadcast premiere. The combination of rising linear ratings and the concurrent streaming resurgence for her film catalog highlights the extensive cultural impact of Parton beyond music.

With multiple networks continuing to air additional tribute content in the days following her death, the sustained viewership numbers indicate that audiences are still actively seeking ways to celebrate and reflect on Parton’s remarkable career.

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