Golden Globes Viewership Declines to 8.7 Million, Down Nearly 7%
According to Nielsen data, the Golden Globes ceremony on Sunday attracted an audience of 8.7 million viewers. This figure represents a decline of almost 7% compared to the previous year's broadcast.
CBS Broadcast Falls Short of Previous Years
Hosted by Nikki Glaser, the Sunday telecast on CBS did not achieve the viewership levels seen in the network's earlier broadcasts of the award show. In CBS's first year airing the Golden Globes, the event drew 9.4 million viewers. Last year, the show, also hosted by Glaser, reached 9.3 million viewers.
CBS and the Golden Globes secured a five-year agreement in 2024 to broadcast the annual ceremony. This deal followed years of the show airing on NBC. NBC dropped the Globes after a diversity and ethics scandal. The show was subsequently sold to Dick Clark Productions, owned by Penske Media, and Eldridge Industries, led by Todd Boehly.
During the late 2010s, the Golden Globes typically attracted close to 20 million viewers, highlighting a significant shift in audience numbers over recent years.
Football Playoffs Dominate Sunday Night Viewing
On Sunday night, while the Golden Globes awarded top honors to productions like "One Battle After Another" and "Hamnet," many more viewers tuned into football. NBC's telecast of the Chargers-Patriots playoff game averaged 28.9 million viewers, according to Nielsen. This stark contrast underscores the strong competition faced by award shows from major sporting events.
CBS Highlights Social Media Engagement
CBS emphasized the social media success of the Golden Globes, labeling it the "most social ever." According to Social Content Ratings, the event generated 42 million interactions, marking a 5% increase from the previous year. Additionally, more than 14 million viewers watched Nikki Glaser's monologue across Golden Globes social platforms within the first 36 hours.
Parent Company Paramount Skydance Files Lawsuit
In related corporate news, Paramount Skydance, the parent company of CBS, filed a lawsuit on Monday against Warner Bros. Discovery and its chief executive, David Zaslav. This legal action is part of Paramount's hostile takeover bid for the studio. Last week, Warner Bros. Discovery's board determined that Paramount's offer does not serve the best interests of the company or its shareholders. The board once again recommended that shareholders support the proposed deal with Netflix.
