The Golden Globes are changing their name to the Bronze Globes. You heard it here first: The awards show is no longer worthy of the precious-metal moniker and has been asked to drop it from their name.
I jest—but not about the show’s viewership decline, down 64 percent from 2020, to fewer than 7 million viewers for the 2021 event that aired in late February. For context, in 2004, the Golden Globes show drew 26.8 million viewers.
Some attributed this year’s sharp drop to the lack of diversity among award winners and judges. That makes sense—except anger often prompts more people to tune in and vocalize their discontent. Others might say the awkwardness of an awards show staged at great distance was painful to watch, but at least those critiquing it did watch. Or perhaps it’s the pandemic’s fault, and all live events are getting hit by bad viewership.