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Ratings for the Golden Globes crashed hard Sunday, with the awards coming in as the least watched ever on NBC.
The network’s broadcast of the awards averaged just 6.91 million viewers and a 1.52 rating among adults 18-49 (adjusted up from 5.42 million and 1.2 in the fast nationals). The ceremony fell by 62 percent in total viewers and nearly 68 percent in the 18-49 demographic from the 2020 Golden Globes, which drew 18.33 million viewers and a 4.7 in the 18-49 demo. (Last year’s awards aired in their usual early January slot and benefited from an NFL playoff game as a lead-in.)
The last time the Golden Globes had anywhere near this small an audience was in 2008, when the writers strike forced the cancellation of the usual star-packed ceremony. A televised press conference announcing the winners drew a little over 6 million viewers.
Other than that, Sunday’s show delivered by far the smallest audience for the awards since NBC acquired rights to the Globes in 1996. The prior low for the awards, excluding the strike year, was 14.86 million in 2009. The Globes ceremony wasn’t even the most watched show on Sunday: CBS’ 60 Minutes (8.13 million viewers) and The Equalizer (7.78 million million) both drew more viewers.
The steep declines for the Golden Globes are in keeping with a recent trend among awards shows. In the past six months, the CMA Awards, Academy of Country Music Awards and American Music Awards have all declined by at least 30 percent in total viewers, while the Primetime Emmy Awards in September dropped by 9 percent in viewers and 23 percent in the 18-49 demographic.
The Golden Globe Awards telecast is produced by Dick Clark Productions, a division of MRC, which is a co-owner of The Hollywood Reporter through a joint venture with Penske Media titled P-MRC.
Bookmark THR.com/Ratings for more ratings news and numbers.
March 2, 8:10 a.m. Updated with final ratings numbers for the Golden Globes and other Sunday shows.
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