2025 Kennedy Center Honors Attract 3.01 Million Viewers

The 2025 Kennedy Center Honors, hosted by President Donald Trump at the Washington, D.C. performing arts venue, drew a record-low audience of 3.01 million viewers during its broadcast on CBS on December 23, marking a 26 percent decline from the previous year's ceremony.

The event, taped on December 7, featured tributes to honorees George Strait, Sylvester Stallone, KISS, Michael Crawford and Gloria Gaynor, individuals recognized for their contributions to American culture. Trump, who selected the recipients and served as emcee, had predicted prior to the airing that it would achieve the highest ratings in the ceremony's history. Nielsen's live-plus-same-day figures, which include data from television homes and smart TVs, confirmed the broadcast as the least-watched edition since the honors began airing on CBS in 1978. For comparison, the 2024 ceremony attracted 4.1 million viewers, while 2023 and 2022 drew 4.5 million and 5.3 million, respectively. The 2021 event, held under COVID-19 restrictions, also recorded 4.1 million viewers, a low at the time.

Kennedy Center officials contested the focus on the overall decline, attributing it to contextual factors rather than the...