Golden Globes, back in Hollywood’s good graces, ink five-year deal with CBS
The Golden Globe Awards, which just two years ago seemed on the verge of being abandoned by Hollywood, have found a new forever home — or at least a five-year one.
On Monday, CBS announced a new five-year deal to air the Globes on the network and stream it live on Paramount+, cementing the show’s return to the industry’s good graces following years of controversy and reform. The new agreement will begin with next year’s broadcast.
Last year, CBS agreed to air the Globes, which were without a broadcast partner after ending its decades-long relationship with NBC, under a one-year agreement. January’s telecast drew 9.4 million viewers, according to Nielsen data, a 50% increase over the previous year’s show on NBC. According to the network, the show was the third-largest live-streamed CBS special event on Paramount+ ever in terms of reach.
Viewership for this year’s Globes was still down substantially from 2019, as awards shows across the board have faced ratings challenges, and the show’s host, comedian Jo Koy, took a major drubbing for his flailing performance. Still, CBS was clearly pleased with the overall results.
New categories. New voters. New network. Even a new trophy. As the Golden Globes turn the page on an existential crisis, a battered Hollywood is eager to welcome the awards back to the fold.
The network also airs the Tonys, Grammys and Emmys (the last in rotation with the other broadcast networks) and is banking that the Globes’ starry reputation as Hollywood’s party of the year and its status as the biggest awards ceremony honoring both film and TV will endure.
“CBS’ collaboration with the Globes for this year’s broadcast was a big win for both of us and established strong momentum for awards shows in 2024,” George Cheeks, president and CEO of CBS, said in a statement. “The Globes is a one-of-a-kind live event that adds another marquee special and valuable promotional platform to CBS’ annual calendar.”
The financial terms of the new deal were not disclosed, but according to several people familiar with the arrangement, the license fee under the previous one-year agreement was less than $10 million, plus a percentage of the ad revenue taken in by CBS — far below the roughly $60 million the Globes received under the previous multi-year deal it forged with NBC in 2018.
The five-year pact with CBS marks what may be the final step in the recently embattled show’s resurrection. Two years ago, the Globes, a key precursor on the road to the Oscars, was mired controversy after a 2021 Times investigation exposed a lack of diversity in the Hollywood Foreign Press Assn., which had long put on the awards and raised concerns about its ethics and financial practices. Stars collectively shunned the show, and NBC yanked it off the air for a year, leaving its future in doubt.
But following a series of sweeping reforms that have remade the awards inside and out, dissolving the HFPA and turning the organization into a for-profit enterprise, the industry welcomed the Globes — and the marketing tool it provides — back into the fold.
Not even the dissolution of the Hollywood Foreign Press Assn. could kill the Golden Globes. So, on CBS, the show went on — without any of the excitement producers promised.
In announcing the new deal, the Globes’ new co-owner Jay Penske, chairman and CEO of Penske Media and Dick Clark Productions, acknowledged the show’s bumpy recent history.
“CBS stepped up for the Globes during a very challenging time, and inherently understood its value, while having the foresight, imagination and conviction to bring this iconic show to its many platforms,” Penske, who shares ownership of the Globes with billionaire investor Todd Boehly’s Eldridge Industries, said in a statement. “We’ve long admired CBS’ commitment to some of the greatest cultural live events and partnering for the long-term further cements this show’s legacy and incredible place in history.”
Even before this year, CBS has its own history with the Globes. In the 1980s, the network aired the show for two years before dropping it amid controversy after a surprise nomination for actress Pia Zadora raised ethical questions.
In a statement, Golden Globes President Helen Hoehne sought to definitively turn the page on the past, calling the CBS deal “a significant milestone for the Globes. ... We are incredibly proud of the audience we garnered in 2024 and look forward to building upon the immense success to make the 82nd annual Golden Globe Awards the best and most memorable show yet.”
Staff writer Stephen Battaglio contributed to this report.
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