The Tonys bounced back.
The 75th Tony Awards drew an audience of 3.9 million viewers on CBS on Sunday night, about a million viewers more than last year’s ceremony, according to Nielsen.
The ratings comeback follows a monthslong trend where award shows, at least for now, have been rebounding from record lows. This year’s Oscars drew 16 million viewers, up from last year’s low of 10 million viewers. And the Grammys had a small ratings bump to over 9 million viewers this year.
Even with the rebound, Sunday’s ratings performance was still significantly lower than the 5.4 million viewers that tuned in for the 2019 Tonys. This year marks the second-lowest viewership total since records have been kept.
The Tonys likely benefited from a return to its traditional June time slot, when viewers are accustomed to watching the show. There was also significantly less competition on Sunday night, with most of the broadcast networks airing repeats. Last year, the delayed Tonys ceremony aired in September and had to go head-to-head against a prime-time Green Bay Packers and San Francisco 49ers nail biter.
Sunday’s Tonys broadcast, which was hosted by Ariana DeBose, was a chance for Broadway to put on a show for millions at a moment when ticket sales are still significantly down from before the pandemic.
New York was the highest rated market in the country, with San Francisco and West Palm Beach right behind it, according to Nielsen.
