As the HFPA struggled in the ratings and within Hollywood, pro football took over the awards’ usual broadcast spot in early January.
NBC’s primetime showing of the awards ceremony on Tuesday, January 10, averaged 6.3 million viewers and earned a 1.1 rating score in the 18-49 demo, according to Nielsen data – a 26% drop in ratings from the 2021 ceremony and a below 9% audience share. % of 2021’s 6.9 million viewers, with no.
But along with declining viewership and the scandals the HFPA has tried to avoid over the past two years, another stumbling block is the rising attendance of the National Football League. With the recent expansion of its playoff structure, that could leave the Globes exiled from its former slot on primetime Sunday television unless changes are made to the awards calendar.
The NFL Has Already Bounced The Globes On A Less Prestigious Night
As the HFPA Struggles to Keep the Golden Globes Midway 2021 Los Angeles Times Exposed Hollywood protested because of its internal operations, finances and the total absence of black members, and NBC withheld from airing last year’s awards ceremony, the NFL increased the number of playoff teams from 12 to 14 and increased the number of games played. Number four to six in the first round of the playoff.
Under the old NFL season structure before the pandemic, it was possible for the Golden Globes and the playoffs to co-exist on a Sunday in early January. The Globes will air the same weekend as the first or second round of the playoffs, with football games airing on CBS and Fox during the day and primetime free for the Globes on NBC.
This year was very different. Six playoff games aired over the weekend of January 7 and 8, two of which NBC aired in primetime, without the Golden Globes airing the first Sunday in January. Even though the playoffs had not expanded, the Critics’ Choice Awards returned to their normal spot in mid-January, leaving the Globes with the January weekend spot.
Thus the Globes were bumped into the Tuesday night primetime slot as NBC’s “Sunday Night Football” aired the NFL regular season finale on Sunday, January 8, between the Detroit Lions and the Green Bay Packers. In the playoffs, it received 23.9 million viewers, the most for a “Sunday Night Football” finale in six years.
NFL games just make better business sense than awards
Last Sunday’s wild card playoff game between the Cincinnati Bengals and Baltimore Ravens drew slightly lower but equally strong ratings, averaging 21.2 million viewers.
Not only did both games post an average of more than triple the 6.9 million total of the 2021 Golden Globes, which was held without spectators in February due to the pandemic, they also topped the 2020 Globes’ final edition of 18.4 million total . The show held on its traditional date with Ricky Gervais hosting.
With awards shows in general, and the scandal-plagued Globes in particular, seeing their public interest rapidly sink, there’s no reason why NBC shouldn’t make taking advantage of the extra NFL playoff games a priority when finding a weekend spot for the Globes. Will give But the question going forward, given that NBC has renewed its deal with the HFPA, is how the ceremony will be scheduled going forward and whether the rest of the awards calendar will need to change as a result.
But NBC Isn’t the Only Option for the HFPA
Spokespeople for NBC and the HFPA declined to comment for this story and could not provide a timetable on when a decision on broadcast renewals could be reached, but it appears to be one of several being made in the changing awards season landscape. One of the decisions. The Critics’ Choice Awards aired on The CW with a West Coast tape delay and Netflix will begin streaming the SAG Awards in 2024, indicating interest among streamers for more live programming.
Options are open to the HFPA, either on another broadcast network, cable or streaming service. Even with declining ratings, awards shows can provide an edge in a competitive market. But those award shows have always had to settle for time not claimed by the NFL, and the league’s field is now larger than ever.
Lori Seitz contributed to this report