The folks at the Oscars and ABC are looking at the Golden Globe numbers from last night very carefully. Last night’s Globes lost 1 million viewers from 2014–20.87 vs. 19.38. And the key demo wasn’t very good either– 6.5 vs. 5.8. More numbers will come in from delayed viewing, but most people who watch awards shows watch ’em when they’re happening. There were a lot of choices last night, including football, “Downton Abbey,” the whole CBS schedule, and the return of “he Bachelor.”
Also, as has been mentioned a lot, most of the movies featured were independents. The Hollywood Foreign Press had a good list, but they omitted “Unbroken,” “Interstellar,” and “American Sniper.”And their Best TV Comedy is on amazon.com, not on TV– “Transparent.” What? For people who sit in the front of an actual TV and enjoy regular shows, this had to be mystifying. It was oblique, to say the least.
The big surprise of the night was Prince, but that looked a little staged– like he knew he’d been presenting to John Legend and Common. Of course, the Oscars offer a lot more including six or seven musical numbers, rock stars, and a little more gravity to the whole business. But as I said last week, people at home are growing weary of awards shows. The numbers prove it.
