 "Hold On to Sixteen" was first broadcast on December 6, 2011 in the United States on Fox. It received a 3.0 / 8 Nielsen rating / share in the 18 – 49 demographic, and attracted 7.11 million American viewers during its initial airing, down from the 7.90 million viewers and 3.2 / 8 rating / share for the previous episode, "I Kissed a Girl", which was broadcast on November 29, 2011. In Canada, where the episode was broadcast the same day, 1.61 million viewers watched the episode, which made it the eleventh most-viewed show of the week, down three slots and 10 % from the 1.79 million viewers who watched "I Kissed a Girl" the previous week.
