Tony Awards Draw 4.31 Million Viewers; Most Watched Ceremony Since 2019

The 2023 Tony Awards scored a winning 4.31 million viewers.

The ratings were up 2% from last year’s June 12, 2022 telecast, based on Nielsen fast national data and estimated out of home viewership.

It was also the most live-streamed Tony Awards ever. The live-streaming average audience on Paramount+ posted a 13% year-to-year increase. 

The Tony Awards also dominated social media. #TonyAwards trended in the top 10 in the U.S. for three hours, peaking at #1. Social media content related to the show attracted 4.8 billion potential social impressions.

Both the 2023 and 2022 ceremonies show decreased ratings since the James Corden-hosted 2019 broadcast, which pulled in 5.5 million viewers.

It was originally announced that the ceremony had been watched by 3.42 million people, updated ratings, including Paramount+ streams, show the improved number.

The 2023 Tony Awards, hosted by Ariana DeBose, are now available to stream on Paramount+. Watch them here.

Winners included Kimberly Akimbo, Some Like It Hot, Leopoldstadt, Sean Hayes, Alex Newell, Bonnie Milligan, and more. Check out the full list of winners here.

The ceremony featured performances from the casts of “Camelot”; “Into the Woods”; “& Juliet”; “Kimberly Akimbo”; “New York, New York”; “Parade”; “Shucked”; “Some Like It Hot”; and “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.”

The show also featued performances from Joaquina Kalukango, the winner of the 2022 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical; the cast of “A Beautiful Noise, The Neil Diamond Musical”; the cast of “Funny Girl”; and Ariana DeBose and Julianne Hough performing the "Hot Honey Rag" from Chicago to honor special the 2023 Special Tony Awards for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre recipients, Joel Grey and John Kander.

Presenters during the Ariana DeBose-hosted broadcast included Barry Manilow, Colman Domingo, Common, David Henry Hwang, Dominique Fishback, Joaquina Kalukango, Julianne Hough, Kelli O’Hara, Kenny Leon, LaTanya Richardson, Lea Michele, Lily Rabe, Lupita Nyong’o, Luke Evans, Marcel Spears, Marcia Gay Harden, Matthew Broderick, Melissa Etheridge, Nathan Lane, Samuel L. Jackson, Skylar Astin, Stephanie Hsu, Tatiana Maslany, Utkarsh Ambudkar, Uzo Aduba, Wayne Brady, and Wilson Cruz.

Photo credit: Michele Crowe/CBS ©2023 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.