Ballasted for two years by accusations of racism, sexism and corruption, the Golden Globes registered the lowest audience in its history for its return to television this year, according to preliminary figures published this Wednesday by the NBC channel.
The ceremony drew 6.3 million viewers on Tuesday night, up from 18 million in 2020 before the pandemic and scandals that plagued these previously highly watched awards at the start of awards season in the United States. .
Long perceived as Hollywood’s favorite soiree, the event was held remotely in 2021 due to the Covid-19 epidemic and was viewed by only 6.9 million Americans. The Golden Globes were then deprived of television and shunned by the gratin in 2022, because of the scandals surrounding the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), which constitutes their jury and has not had any for a long time black member.
What’s next for the Golden Globes?
These new audience figures reinforce doubts about the viability of these rewards. This is the lowest audience ever recorded by NBC for a red carpet gala: only the 2008 edition of the Golden Globes, held in the form of a press conference due to a writers’ strike in Hollywood, had it worse.
After the 2022 boycott, the US channel agreed to rebroadcast the 80th ceremony this year. But the contract signed with the HFPA was only valid for 2023, a far cry from previous multi-year commitments.
On Tuesday night, many stars, such as directors Steven Spielberg, James Cameron and Guillermo del Toro or actors Colin Farrell, Brad Pitt and Michelle Yeoh attended the ceremony in person. A sign that much of Hollywood seems willing to forgive the HFPA, which has initiated reforms to improve voter diversity at the Golden Globes and ban members from accepting studio gifts.
unfavorable hours
But several winners were also conspicuous by their absence on stage. Chosen for best actress in a dramatic film, Cate Blanchett (“Tar”), for example, mentioned problems with the calendar.
Given the poor audiences, an NBC spokesman reminded AFP that the Golden Globes “have historically been broadcast on Sunday nights”, a more favorable scenario to get a good score. Given their schedule, this year NBC had moved them to Tuesday night, to avoid the ceremony suffering from competition from the American Football Championship (NFL).
Crowds at major awards shows have been at half mast for several years, particularly as young people spend more time on social media or streaming platforms than in front of television. But by comparison, the Oscars largely rebounded in 2022 after the pandemic, with 16 million viewers, up from 10 million the year before.
Source: BFM TV
