Pandemic Golden Globes ratings plunge 64% to 6.9M viewers

In this video grab issued Sunday, Feb. 28, 2021, by NBC, hosts Tina Fey, left, from New York, and Amy Poehler, from Beverly Hills, Calif., speak at the Golden Globe Awards. (NBC via AP)

NEW YORK (AP) — Television viewers showed little interest in the pandemic-era Golden Globes.

The annual awards ceremony reached 6.9 million viewers, down a whopping 64 percent from the pre-lockdown broadcast in 2020.

Hosts Tina Fey and Amy Poehler appeared on separate coasts and, for a nation already Zoomed-out, nominees were on remote screens instead of walking down a red carpet.

The film nominees also suffered from a lack of buzz, partly because virtually no one went to a theater in the past year.

NBC’s plight represents ABC’s fear: the Oscars, traditionally the granddaddy of awards season, are being held in April and are already coming off its smallest audience ever.

According to The Associated Press, this year’s show was the lowest broadcast since NBC began broadcasting it in 1996.