The episode originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on January 14, 2001. It was viewed in approximately 8.79 million households that night. With a Nielsen rating of 8.6, "Pokey Mom" tied with an episode of "60 Minutes" for the 38th place in the ratings for the week of January 8–14, 2001. It was the third-highest-rated broadcast on Fox that week, following episodes of "Temptation Island" and "Boston Public". On August 18, 2009, "Pokey Mom" was released on DVD as part of the box set "The Simpsons – The Complete Twelfth Season". Staff members Tom Martin, Bob Anderson, Mike Scully, Ian Maxtone-Graham, John Frink, Don Payne, Matt Selman, and Joel H. Cohen, as well as cast members Dan Castellaneta and Joe Mantegna, participated in the DVD audio commentary for the episode. Deleted scenes from the episode were also included on the box set.