People Forsake Revamped People's Choice Awards
The writers' strike struck down ratings for the People's Choice Awards.
The Tuesday show, recast as a two-hour, taped special when picket lines threatened to keep away the necessary stars, averaged fewer than 6 million trophy buffs, according to Nielsen Media Research estimates.
The number was a record low. By a lot.
Viewership was down by nearly 50 percent from last year, and nearly 40 percent from the show's previous all-time bad, which was achieved in 2006.
The Queen Latifah-hosted event was cut down to size by, among other things, the inaptly named The Biggest Loser (11.5 million) and an all-new Law & Order: SVU (15.2 million), both on NBC.
The Golden Globes, itself recast this year as an hourlong recitation of the winners, is next up in braving this scary, new awards-show world. That presentation, such as it is, is set to air Sunday night on NBC.
Although it was revamped, the People's Choice Awards did not lack for big names. Reese Witherspoon, Joaquin Phoenix, Robin Williams and more appeared on camera, albeit on tape, to accept their awards.
The public's chilly reception of the new format would not seem to bode well for the already reeling Globes.
Dateline NBC, which will air an hourlong special prior to the Globes "press conference," has managed to put together an interview show featuring several of the night's nominees, including Hairspray's Nikki Blonsky and Brothers & Sisters' Sally Field.
The Globes, like the People's Choice Awards, was forced to roll up the red carpet after it became clear Hollywood's striking writers would picket, and Hollywood's sympathetic actors wouldn't cross.
In cheerier ratings news, meanwhile, One Tree Hill, a real, live scripted show in a winter of American Gladiators, got off to a strong start for the CW. The show's fifth-season premiere, fast-forwarding the series' action by four years, averaged an estimated 3.6 million viewers, up nearly 30 percent over last year's season-long performance.
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