#TV Ratings: Golden Globes Jump 50 Percent With CBS Switch

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 9.4 million viewers, based on time zone-adjusted fast national ratings from Nielsen (which include out of home viewing). That’s a 50 percent improvement from the 6.25 million who tuned into last year’s show on NBC. The 2023 awards were drew the second-smallest audience of their 28 years on NBC, behind only a televised press conference in 2008 that replaced the usual show during that year’s writers strike.

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 — was undoubtedly a big help. Final ratings for Sunday’s games aren’t available yet, but the final weekend of the regular season likely drew a big audience for CBS earlier in the day.

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 per year 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.