Golden Globes 2021 audience drops by more than half

Early reports suggest that viewing figures for Sunday's show were down by more than 60 per cent on last year

Catherine O'Hara with her husband Bo Welch accepts Best Television Actress - Musical/Comedy Series award for 'Schitt's Creek' via video from Christian Slater onstage at the 78th Annual Golden Globe Awards. AFP / NBCUniversal

Mark Ruffalo, alongside Sunrise Coigney, accepts the Best Actor - Television Motion Picture award for 'I Know This Much Is True' via video as Justin Theroux stands onstage at the 78th Annual Golden Globe Awards. AFP / NBCUniversal

Norman Lear wins the Carol Burnett Television Achievement Award. Presented by Tina Fey onstage at the 78th Annual Golden Globe Awards. AFP / NBCUniversal

Jason Sudeikis accepting the Best Television Actor - Musical/Comedy Series award for 'Ted Lasso' via video at the 78th Annual Golden Globe Awards. AFP / NBCUniversal

Gal Gadot presents the Best Picture - Foreign Language award for 'Minari' via video to Lee Isaac Chung (on screen) at the 78th Annual Golden Globe Awards. AFP / NBCUniversal

Anthony Anderson presents via video the Best Television Actor - Drama Series award for 'The Crown' to Josh O'Connor (on screen) at the 78th Annual Golden Globe Awards. AFP / NBCUniversal

Peter Morgan accepts the Best Drama Series award for 'The Crown' via video from Kenan Thompson at the 78th Annual Golden Globe Awards. AFP / NBCUniversal

Anya Taylor-Joy (on screen), winner of the Best Actress - Television Motion Picture award for 'The Queen's Gambit' reacts as Rosie Perez presents onstage at the 78th Annual Golden Globe Awards. AFP / NBCUniversal

Gillian Anderson accepts the Best Supporting Actress - Television award for 'The Crown' via video at the 78th Annual Golden Globe Awards. AFP / NBCUniversal

Jane Fonda accepts the Cecil B DeMille Award onstage at the 78th Annual Golden Globe Awards. AFP / NBCUniversal

Chloe Zhao accepts the Best Director - Motion Picture award for 'Nomadland' via video from Bryce Dallas Howard at the 78th Annual Golden Globe Awards. AFP / NBCUniversal

Trent Reznor as he accepts the Best Score - Motion Picture award for 'Soul' via video at the 78th Annual Golden Globe Awards. AFP / NBCUniversal

Taylor Simone Ledward Boseman accepts the award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama for 'Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom' on behalf of her late husband Chadwick Boseman at the 78th Annual Golden Globe Awards. AFP / NBCUniversal

Renee Zellweger announces the late Chadwick Boseman as winner of the Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama award for 'Ma Rainey's Black Bottom' at the 78th Annual Golden Globe Awards. AFP

Sacha Baron Cohen with Isla Fisher as he accepts the Best Picture - Musical/Comedy award for 'Borat Subsequent Moviefilm' via video at the 78th Annual Golden Globe Awards. AFP / NBCUniversal

Andra Day reacting after being named winner of the Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama award for 'The United States vs Billie Holiday' via video from Joaquin Phoenix at the 78th Annual Golden Globe Awards. AFP / NBCUniversal

Emma Corrin accepts the Best Television Actress - Drama Series award for 'The Crown' via video at the 78th Annual Golden Globe Awards. AFP / NBCUniversal

Rosamund Pike accepts the Best Actress - Motion Picture - Musical/Comedy award for 'I Care a Lot' via video at the 78th Annual Golden Globe Awards. AFP / NBCUniversal

Laura Dern presenting the award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in any Motion Picture at the 78th Annual Golden Globe Awards. AFP / NBCUniversal

Host Amy Poehler during the 78th annual Golden Globe Awards ceremony at the Beverly Hilton Hotel as Daniel Kaluuya accepts his award. EPA / HFPA

Angela Basset presenting during the 78th annual Golden Globe Awards ceremony at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, in Beverly Hills. EPA/HFPA

John Boyega accepts the award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television during the 78th annual Golden Globe Awards. EPA / HFPA

Tiffany Haddish presents during the 78th annual Golden Globe Awards ceremony. EPA / HFPA

Cynthia Erivo presents the award for Best Screenplay - Motion Picture during the 78th annual Golden Globe Awards. EPA / HFPA

It may have marked an exciting moment for Hollywood as the first in-person awards ceremony to take place since the start of the pandemic, but audiences at home were less enthused by this year's Golden Globes.

Ratings for the awards ceremony, which took place on Sunday night in a bi-coastal format for the first time, were down 50 per cent on the 2020 ceremony, according to audience data analyst Nielsen.

Early numbers show that NBC's live broadcast of the event averaged 5.42 million viewers and a 1.2 rating in key ad demographics of adults between the ages of 18 and 49. Those numbers are down by more than 60 per cent in 2020, the Hollywood Reporter states.

However, the early figures do not account for those watching from the Pacific time zone or watching outside of their homes. Those figures are set to be released on Tuesday.

This data does suggest, though, that it was the Golden Globes's smallest audience since it moved from television channel TBS to NBC in 1996.

The 78th Golden Globe Awards was the first hybrid show for the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which had in-person ceremonies running simultaneously in New York and Los Angeles, and many of its stars dialling in from home.

In 2020, the ceremony was watched by 18.4 million viewers.