The Golden Globe Awards posted a big ratings improvement with their move to CBS — and a sizable assist from a big NFL lead-in.
Sunday’s telecast averaged about 9.47 million viewers in Nielsen’s final same-day ratings. That’s a 51 percent improvement from the 6.25 million who tuned into last year’s show on NBC. The 2023 awards drew the second-smallest audience in the Globes’ 28 years on NBC, behind only a televised press conference in 2008 that replaced the usual show during that year’s writers strike.
The awards scored a 1.76 rating among adults 18-49 (equal to about 2.3 million people in that age range), a 56 percent gain on last year’s show.
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Having the NFL as a lead-in — something the NBC telecast never enjoyed, as it tended to air after the network’s Sunday Night Football commitments ended in a given year — was undoubtedly a big help. The late afternoon NFL game on CBS Sunday averaged 21 million viewers, and the post-game show (which was unusually long, as several games ended relatively early) just before the Globes drew 10.62 million.
Though the Globes hit their highest audience mark since 2020 — the last one before the COVID-19 pandemic — Sunday’s show, like most other awards telecasts, still lags well behind pre-pandemic averages. In the decade-plus following the 2008 telecast, the Globes averaged about 18.3 million viewers and a 5.43 rating in the 18-49 demographic on NBC.
The Golden Globes also streamed live on Paramount+ Sunday; as is the norm for the streamer, viewing figures aren’t being made public. CBS says the telecast drew the second largest streaming audience for an awards show on the platform, behind the 2023 Grammys.
Golden Globes producer Dick Clark Productions is owned by Penske Media Eldridge, a joint venture between Penske Media Corporation and Eldridge that also owns The Hollywood Reporter.
Elsewhere Sunday, NBC ended its Sunday Night Football season with 21.18 million viewers for the final contest of the NFL regular season. SNF was up about 9 percent in viewers year to year. Fox previewed its animated comedy Grimsburg after football, with 2.46 million people tuning in.
Jan. 9, 9:45 a.m. Updated with final ratings for Sunday.
