NBC Airing Golden Globes After Diversity Controversy “Not a Done Deal”

UPDATE: Deadline reports the Golden Globes’ return to NBC is “not a done deal,” though talks are ongoing between the network and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. The original article remains below.

The Golden Globes are making a comeback at NBC. The network has been the home of the Golden Globe Awards since 1996. However, after it was discovered in 2021 that the Hollywood Foreign Press Association had zero Black participants among its 87 members, NBC declined to air the ceremony in 2022. The HFPA is the organization that runs the Golden Globes, so its lack of diversity was a big red flag to Hollywood when changes to be more inclusive were sweeping the industry. According to The Hollywood Reporter, NBC is planning to air the 2023 Golden Globes on Tuesday, January 10th.

NBC has typically aired the Golden Globes on Sundays in January, but next year revealed some challenges in making that happen again. For example, New Year’s Day falls on January 1st, 2023, so that date is out. The 2022 NFL season concludes on Sunday, January 8th, and NBC has to block off that evening for NBC Sunday Night Football. As for January 15th, the Critics Choice Awards have already claimed that date as well, leaving NBC to settle for a Tuesday night timeslot.

NBCUniversal re-upped its deal to broadcast the Golden Globes in 2018, agreeing to pay the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and Dick Clark Productions $60 million a year through 2026. The 2021 exposé by the LA Times revealed the HFPA’s lack of diversity, causing NBC to decline to air the event. The 2022 Golden Globes switched to a private event that wasn’t even livestreamed.

“We continue to believe that the HFPA is committed to meaningful reform. However, change of this magnitude takes time and work, and we feel strongly that the HFPA needs time to do it right,” NBC said in a statement following the LA Times article.

“This year’s event is going to be a private event and will not be livestreamed,” an HFPA spokesperson said regarding the decision to make the 2022 Golden Globes a private affair. “We will be providing real time updates on winners on the Golden Globes website and our social media.”

It remains to be seen if any true changes have been made at the HFPA. While Hollywood stood firm in its criticism of the organization, there are rumblings that some publicists are anxious to see the popular awards show return, since it can help raise the profile of their client’s projects ahead of the Oscars.

Photo credit via Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for Hollywood Foreign Press Association