Golden Globes ratings down from last year

Ratings momentum for the Golden Globes loss some steam Sunday night.

Co-hosting for the third (and apparently final) year, NBC vets Tina Fey and Amy Poehler didn’t quite go out with a ratings bang. Sunday’s 72nd Golden Globes telecast delivered 19.3 million viewers overall for the peacock network, according to fast-official ratings from Nielsen.

This year’s numbers were down about 8% compared with last year, when the telecast brought in 20.9 million viewers.

The awards show had seen a turnaround since Fey and Poehler began their hosting duties in 2013. That year, the show rose nearly 30% — prompting a two-year deal for the duo. Last year’s telecast delivered the show’s biggest audience in a decade.

The former “Saturday Night Live� stars, who have been lauded for rejuvenating the awards ceremony, didn’t hold back in Sunday’s telecast, skewering Bill Cosby, poking fun at the Sony-North Korea debacle and roasting George Clooney over his new wife, Amal Alamuddin.

“Tina and Amy kill me,� Clooney told reporters backstage after accepting the Cecil B. DeMille award. “I think that they’re the best hosts of this show. Last year’s ‘Gravity’ joke was the best. Tonight, I thought it was hysterical. I hope they can talk them into [doing more].�

In the key demographic of adults ages 18 to 49, which is most coveted by advertisers, the Golden Globes earned a 5.8 rating, down nearly 11% from last year’s 6.5 rating in the demo but still making it the highest rated prime-time entertainment telecast in the demo since then.

And of those watching, some tuned out before catching wins for “The Grand Budapest Hotel� and “Boyhood� in the comedy or musical and drama categories, respectively. The final hour of the telecast, which unveils winners of the major film categories, saw a steep dropoff.

For those that did tune in, it was a night of surprise and revolution. “Grand Budapest Hotel� beat out “Birdman� in the comedy or musical category, and “Boyhood� topped the drama category.

The TV camp also left it’s mark.

“Transparent,� a show about a transgender woman and her family, took home two top prizes (best comedy or musical and lead actor in a comedy or musical). Beyond the subject matter, the wins were groundbreaking in another way — they marked the first wins for Amazon, a company better known for selling merchandise than supplying original TV programming.

Elsewhere, the CW got the first win in its eight-year history via Gina Rodriguez’s triumph in the actress in a TV comedy or a musical for her performance in “Jane the Virgin.� And Showtime’s “The Affair� toook the drama series and drama actress categories.

Twitter: @villarrealy