Globes’ audience plummeted more than 60% of the 18.3 million viewers who watched last year, according to Nielsen data, to an average audience of 6.9 million. While Globes have a long and uneven history on TV – sometimes broadcasting on cable, and for a while after a previous scandal, by no means – this is the least of the tune since NBC acquired the broadcast rights. in the 1990s.
NBC noted that the audience reached the top of the Emmy Awards in September, but that was hardly an achievement, as those numbers also hit a record low. All indications are that the appetite for award programs – already in constant decline – suffered a serious setback in a year in which many cinemas were closed and a large part of the distribution of films, out of necessity, migrated to streaming services.
The big winners in the main film categories – the drama “Nomadland” and the satirical comedy “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm” – debuted on Hulu and Amazon, respectively.
In addition, the use of a virtual format – featuring bicastastal presenters in Tina Fey and Amy Poehler – robbed Globes of its usual freewheeling atmosphere, resulting in a transmission fraught with technical flaws and strange moments.
Low ratings are just one of the problems facing NBC and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the organization that presents the annual awards. Reports in the Los Angeles Times exposed new ethical issues about the group, as well as the absence of any black members, a fact that drew criticism from leading Hollywood figures, prompting HFPA representatives to promise to resolve the latter problem during the broadcast.
NBC has so far made no comment on the latest reports on HFPA, which obtains most of its revenue from the broadcast license fee and donates much of it to charity ventures.
Like the Globes, the Oscar was postponed for about two months this year, with nominations scheduled for March 15 and the ceremony to air on April 25.
