The ratings are in for the 2023 Golden Globe Awards, revealing how the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s awards show did in its return to NBC.
Airing live coast-to-coast from 5-8 p.m. PT/8-11 p.m. ET Tuesday on NBC and streaming on Peacock, the Jerrod Carmichael-hosted 80th annual Golden Globes drew a 1.1 rating and 6.3 million viewers, down 26% and 9%, respectively, from the last Globes telecast.
Per NBC, the Globes were the “most social special event across all of television season-to-date (linear and streaming), both in terms of social engagements and social video views,” and Golden Globe Awards content across E! News and NBC Digital platforms “garnered nearly 11 million digital page views and video views, up +54% from 2021.”
NBC will released combined Peacock and digital viewership when Nielsen’s Live + 3 Day data is available.
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In March 2021, the last time the Globes aired on NBC, the Tiny Fey and Amy Poehler-hosted 78th Golden Globes drew a mere 6.9 million viewers and a 1.5 rating among adults 18-49, according to time zone adjusted numbers for the Sunday show, which was a bicoastal and virtual affair amid the pandemic. (The Globes’ last pre-pandemic ceremony, in January 2020, drew 18.3 million viewers.)
The Globes lost NBC as a broadcast partner for the 79th show in 2022, following a Los Angeles Times report that detailed new allegations of questionable financial practices inside the small, insular organization, as well as paltry record of diversity and representation (including an entire lack of Black members). Instead, the HFPA held the 2022 Golden Globes as a private ceremony at the Beverly Hilton, without any nominees in attendance.
Last September, following a letter sent out by new HFPA president Helen Hoehne detailing reforms carried out by the HFPA, NBC announced it had set a one-year Golden Globes broadcast deal with the organization and Globes producer Dick Clark Productions, “which allows the HFPA and DCP to explore new opportunities for domestic and global distribution across a variety of platforms in the future.” The 2023 show received its Tuesday placement due to NFL football that Sunday and the NCAA National Championship Game taking place that Monday, per NBC. (The Critics Choice Awards had already staked out the following Sunday, Jan. 15, for its event.)
During Tuesday’s Globes, held once again at the Beverly Hilton, saw ABC’s “Abbott Elementary” and HBO’s “House of the Dragon” and “The White Lotus” emerge with the top TV honors, while Universal’s “The Fabelmans” and Searchlight’s “The Banshees of Inisherin” were the leading victors in film categories. See the complete 2023 Golden Globes winners list here.
Additionally, Globes winner and six-time nominee Eddie Murphy received the 2023 Cecil B. DeMille Award, while five-time Golden Globe winner and 16-time nominee Ryan Murphy was given the Carol Burnett Award.
The Globes are far from the only awards show taking a ratings hit recently, with most having been on a steady decline since before the pandemic.
In September, the Emmys were down 25% from 2021 in total viewers and hit a new record low in ratings. Airing on a Monday, as the Emmys always do when they are on NBC due to “Sunday Night Football,” the Kenan Thompson-hosted 74th Emmy Awards had a 1.0 rating among adults 18-49, the lowest-ever key demo stat for the Emmys. The show drew 5.9 million total viewers compared with 2021’s outing on CBS, which netted 7.9 million. That was also a new low and in stark contrast to the prior year’s show, which marked a reversal in the Emmys’ steady decline in audience size.
