Nielsen measurements show: Golden Globes 2026 reached far fewer viewers. The Oscars have already responded to the negative trend.
The Golden Globes were awarded on January 11, 2026. In addition to the lucky winners of the evening, another fact stood out: the ceremony had a significantly lower audience rating than the previous year.
Significant decline recorded
Data collected from an audience measurement by Nielsen shows that at 8.66 million viewers, the audience rating fell by seven percent compared to the previous year. In 2024, 9.27 million people tuned in. In 2023 there were only 6.3 million. Although the awards ceremony was able to win back some of its audience, it can still be said that the gala’s numbers have decreased enormously. In 2020, 18.3 million people watched. The organizers can therefore definitely ask themselves whether general interest in the Golden Globes is decreasing.
Golden Globes compared to other awards shows
The Golden Globe Awards had a higher audience rating than the Emmys 2025, which was watched by 7.42 million series fans. However, it fell far short of last year’s Oscars, which reached 19.69 million viewers. At this year’s awarding of the most important film prize, the same films will probably compete for the awards as at the Golden Globes. It remains to be seen whether the Oscars’ ratings will exceed last year’s or fall short. The award will take place on March 15, 2026.
Possible reasons for the falling ratings
One reason could be the lack of an NFL playoff game this year. Last year, the broadcaster “CBS” benefited from an NFL game being shown in advance, as a look at the numbers shows.
Another, possibly decisive reason for the lower viewership could be that interest in the awarding of the prize has shifted significantly to the online area. Paramount reported that numerous discussions and posts were shared surrounding the event. In total there were 43 million interactions regarding the topic, an all-time high. It is still unclear whether and how the organizers will react to this.
Oscars from 2029 only in live stream
The most important film award is also struggling with falling ratings. In 2015, 36.6 million people tuned in. Ten years later, that number has almost halved. The Academy responded to this: On December 17, 2025, it was announced that the collaboration with the broadcaster “ABC” would be ended and that the ceremony would only be streamed on YouTube from 2029 in order to reach a larger and younger audience. Whether the Golden Globes will follow suit with a similar measure remains to be seen.
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