Tony Telecast Ratings Increase for Second Year in a Row

The CBS broadcast of the Tony Awards was up in overall ratings for the second year in a row. The show added 1.29 million viewers as compared to last year's broadcast, playing in approximately 7.79 million homes, according to the overnight ratings reports. It was the most watched telecast since 2003.

Despite this ratings boost, the show did not triumph for the night, losing out to ABC. The telecast did however make a strong showing—coming in with a 5.3 rating a single national ratings point represents 1% of viewers and a 9 share which represents the percentage of in-use television sets tuned to a certain program for its three hour block. Comparatively, last year the show had a 4.6 rating and an 8 share. The broadcast notably displayed an increase in the key age 25-54 demographic—up 12% with that group as compared to 2005.

With a strong lead-in from 60 Minutes, The 60th Annual Tony Awards, which boasted appearances by Oprah Winfrey and Julia Roberts, among others, started off well with a 6.2 rating and a 10 share for its 8pm to 8:30pm block. Viewership steadily declined for the rest of the evening.

Not surprisingly, the Tony broadcast did better in New York than in other markets. In this area, the program started out at 8pm with a 9.3 rating and a 16 share. Overall for the evening which includes the 60 Minutes hour, CBS received 8.8 rating and a 14 share in the New York area with the help of the Tony Awards.