" The Snowmen " aired on BBC One on 25 December 2012 at 5 : 15 pm , the same day on BBC America in the US and Space in Canada and the next day on ABC1 in Australia and on Prime in New Zealand . UK overnight ratings showed that the special had been watched by 7 @.@ 6 million viewers , coming in sixth for the night . Final consolidated figures ( not including BBC iPlayer viewers ) showed that the episode was watched by 9 @.@ 87 million viewers , coming in fourth for the night . It also received an Appreciation Index figure of 87 , higher than most of the Doctor Who Christmas specials . The iPlayer version had 1 @,@ 467 @,@ 220 views , making it the most popular TV show on iPlayer over Christmas . The US airing was seen by 1 @.@ 43 million viewers , with a 0 @.@ 6 rating in the demographic of adults aged 18 – 49 .