Gregg Donovan has a “Time’s Up Globes” movement support poster outside the Beverly Hilton Hotel, where the Golden Globes take place, on February 28, 2021 in Beverly Hills, California.
VALERIE MACON | AFP | Getty Images
Not even Tina Fey and Amy Poehler were able to save Sunday’s Golden Globes from acid scores.
On Tuesday, Nielsen data revealed that the 78th annual award of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association had only attracted 6.9 million viewers, a 63% drop from the 18.4 million tuned in to the broadcast of 2020
The last time the ceremony had such a lukewarm audience was in 2008, when the show was transformed into a press conference due to the writers ’strike. About 6 million people tuned in to this broadcast. The least-watched Globes, however, were in 1995, when they only saw the program 3.6 million.
Sunday’s broadcast was marred by technical hiccups and overshadowed by the scandal, as the HFPA was under heavy fire for its lack of black voters and continued reports of internal corruption. Fey, Poehler, and several award winners used their time to take the organization away, leading to an awkward night of pseudo-celebration.
The ceremony received a rating of 1.5 among adults aged 18 to 49, a drastic drop of 68% over the previous year’s sample, which previously had the record for the lowest rating of all time. of that key demographic.
NBC, which signed a $ 60 million a year deal with HFPA in 2018 for exclusive rights to the broadcast for eight years, may be rethinking the value of the ceremony.
Although the HFPA used Sunday’s show to issue a statement about its plans to include more black journalists and other minority journalists in its organization in the future, many felt the apologies fell through. The organization faces multiple scandals and its reputation is tarnished in the eyes of the Hollywood elite and audiences around the world.
Still, the ceremony and its awards remain coveted by the film and television industry. Nominations and earnings, even from an organization like HFPA, continue to be marketing opportunities for studios and celebrities. Note how often the words “Golden Globe winner” or “Golden Globe nominee” are used in trailers and other promotional materials.
Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal and CNBC.