What Will the Streaming Impact of the 2024 Grammys Be?
Will more award shows try to move their ceremonies to streaming services going forward?
It’s already been a year! The 2024 Grammy Awards are coming up on Sunday, Feb. 4, and audiences will find the ceremony both on CBS and on Paramount+’s premium tier Paramount+ with SHOWTIME. Viewers responded to finding the awards show on both platforms in a big way last year, as the 2023 Grammys drew 12.4 million viewers, up 33% from 2022 and the biggest audience for the awards since 2020. As awards shows find bigger and bigger streaming audiences, it’s wise to question whether or not they’ll be on linear TV for much longer, especially if this year’s Grammys are another ratings success.
- Streaming services like Peacock and Paramount+ have helped boost viewership of awards shows markedly.
- Netflix will begin serving as the exclusive host for the SAG Awards on February 24.
- Streaming could be the best place for awards ceremonies, as they place fewer restrictions on content.
Will Awards Shows Move Exclusively to Streaming?
The positive impact of subscription streaming services on awards shows is plain to see. The 2023 Golden Globes saw miserable TV ratings on NBC, but got a boost thanks to the 33 million minutes of streaming time the awards ceremony saw on Peacock. The Globes moved to CBS and Paramount+ in 2024, and the telecast drew an average of 9.4 million viewers across both platforms. The Paramount+ with SHOWTIME tier allows customers to watch awards shows like the Grammys and Golden Globes live with the 24/7 stream of local CBS stations available with that plan.
With ratings slumping on linear TV and streaming audiences clearly willing to follow awards shows, it’s entirely possible many of these ceremonies will move exclusively to streaming platforms within the next few years. The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards have already made that move; the SAG Awards will stream exclusively on Netflix for the first time in 2024, in what’s sure to be a raucous evening for participants anxious to blow off steam after the prolonged SAG-AFTRA strike in 2023.
The Emmys, Golden Globes, Grammys, and Tony Awards could all follow quickly if they find streamers willing to take them on. The last holdout will likely be the Academy Awards; Disney+ streamed the Academy Award announcement show as per usual in 2024, but the Oscars themselves will not be on that service or any other streamer as of now.
Why Streaming Could Be the Perfect Medium for Awards Shows
Many awards shows already make their ceremonies available for on-demand streaming once they finish broadcasting live, which gives audiences the chance to fast-forward directly to the performer or speech they want to see and hear the most. However, airing awards shows live on streaming services can offer several advantages over the way awards ceremonies are broadcast on linear TV.
For one thing, there would be far less emphasis on keeping to a rigid, inflexible time schedule. Many award shows put actor/actress awards near the beginning of the show, but the performers are not granted much grace when speaking to the audience because the show has to keep moving. A shift to streaming would allow speakers to take their time, and most streamers with live events allow viewers to pause the event and catch up to live later if they’d rather not hear the award winner in question’s speech.
Another reason streaming could be the best format for presenting awards ceremonies is that censors don’t have to be so fast with the bleep button. Streaming services don’t have the same content restrictions that broadcast TV does, and let’s face it: it’s fun to hear your favorite performer belt a few triumphal swear words into a microphone after receiving an accolade.
If the 2024 Grammy Awards drive big viewership for Paramount+, the argument for moving awards shows primarily to streaming will become even stronger. In The Streamable’s expert opinion, this is a highly likely outcome in the next few years, as the 2024 Grammys seem poised to make a big impact with streaming audiences.
Paramount Plus
Paramount+ is a subscription video streaming service that includes on-demand access to 40,000+ TV show episodes from BET, CBS, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, Nick Jr. and more. The lineup includes “1883,” “Tulsa King,” “Star Trek: Discovery,” Nickelodeon’s “SpongeBob SquarePants,” and “PAW Patrol.” Subscribers can watch the NFL, college football, The Masters, college basketball, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa, Serie A, and NWSL. The service also offers the option to watch your live CBS affiliate. The upgraded ad-free package includes premium movies and shows from Showtime.