 " Mr. Monk and the Man Who Shot Santa Claus " was first broadcast in the United States on <unk> at 6 pm EST on December 7 , 2007 . The USA Network regular channel aired it at 9 pm EST on the same day . According to Nielsen Media Research , the episode was viewed by an estimated 4 @.@ 546 million viewers , making it the tenth most watched program on cable television that week . It was the day 's most watched among cable television shows , with 1 @.@ 6 million viewers among adults ages 18 to 49 , and 1 @.@ 8 million viewers among adults ages 25 to 54 . Time shifted viewing increased the episode 's audience to a total of 5 @.@ 138 million . 
