The 2019 Tony Awards show, airing live on CBS on Sundat night, produced the lowest ratings in five years.
Despite the best efforts of “Late Late Show” host James Corden, who was back hosting the Tonys for the second time, the 2019 awards scored a 0.8 rating in the key 18-49 demographic and fell below 6 million total viewers for the first time with just under 5.5 million total viewers tuning in, according to Nielsen overnight numbers.
That’s down 20% on last year’s 1.0 rating and 13% on 2018’s viewership figure of 6.3 million. Last time Corden hosted in 2016, the show notched a 1.6 rating and 8.7 million viewers.
In both 2017 and 2015, the CBS-broadcast awards show averaged a 0.9 rating in the same demographic.
Mythical Greek musical “Hadestown” and IRA thriller “The Ferryman” were the big winners on the night, alongside Elaine May, who received her first-ever Tony at the age of 87, and Bryan Cranston, who won best actor in a play, on the acting front.