TV Ratings: Tony Awards Viewership Dips Due to Father's Day Scheduling

The Tony Awards experienced a drop in viewership on Sunday, Tony Awards experienced a drop in viewership on Sunday, coinciding with one of the least-watched Sundays on traditional TV in recent memory.

The show drew an average of 3.51 million viewers, according to Nielsen's fast national ratings, which include out-of-home viewing. These numbers may adjust slightly in the final count, but they indicate a roughly 15 percent decline from last year’s 4.12 million viewers.

This marks the second consecutive year of declining viewership for the Broadway honors. (The awards also streamed on Paramount+, though those figures aren't included in Nielsen’s on-air ratings.)

Part of the decline in Tony Awards viewership can likely be attributed to Sunday being a very low TV usage night. Primetime on Father’s Day typically sees lower TV viewership (except for occasional live sports events). Overall TV use was down about 10 percent from the night of the 2023 Tony Awards, which aired a week earlier, making it the lowest Sunday night TV usage since Nielsen began using metered ratings in 1987.

Another possible factor is the competition from the premiere of season two of *House of the Dragon* on HBO and Max, which may have drawn potential Tonys viewers away. Audience figures for the *House of the Dragon* premiere are expected to be released on Tuesday.

Stereophonic dominated the Tony Awards, winning five awards, including Best Play. Musicals *The Outsiders* and *Merrily We Roll Along* each secured four awards.
Despite the Tony Awards' ratings decline, the 2023-24 awards season has seen a mixed but generally positive trend. The Emmys hit an all-time low in viewership due to their delayed broadcast, while the Oscars, Grammys, and Golden Globes experienced year-over-year increases in their audiences.