Top 100 Events in the United States 2016 - Award Shows

Los Angeles
#1 Award Show
The premier award show dealt with intense criticism for the lack of lack of racial diversity among its actor nominees in the past two years—summarized in the hashtag #OscarsSoWhite—and in response the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences this year changed the eligibility rules for its members and actively recruited more women and people of color. To address another perennial gripe—the show’s long running time—producers added a new element: scrolling winners’ thank-you lists at the bottom of the screen during acceptance speeches. The show reliably attracts the most viewers and media attention. In 2016, the 88th annual Academy Awards, hosted by Chris Rock and held at the Dolby Theater, had 34.4 million U.S. viewers—down from the 36.6 million who watched in 2015 and nowhere near the 43.7 million for the 2014 Oscar telecast. Still, ABC renewed its U.S. telecast rights for the show through 2028. Next: February 26, 2017

Los Angeles
#2 Award Show
The 58th edition, hosted by LL Cool J at the Staples Center, was a critically acclaimed event that had a slight dip in the ratings. The show, which was televised on CBS, had 23.7 million viewers, compared to 24.8 million viewers the previous year. The Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences presents most of the awards in a pre-telecast that is streamed live, while the main show is more about the performances and the most prestigious categories. Taylor Swift and Kendrick Lamar were among the biggest winners, while performances paid tribute to David Bowie, Lionel Richie, B.B. King, Glenn Frey of the Eagles, Michael Jackson, Earth Wind & Fire co-founder Maurice White, and Motorhead’s Lemmy Kilmeister. Next: February 12, 2017

Los Angeles
#3 Award Show
Presented by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, the awards remain the most prestigious recognition in television. Critics gave the show mostly positive reviews for host Jimmy Kimmel and for the diversity of winners, which included multiple honoree The People v.  O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story. Ratings for the show slightly dipped, drawing 11.3 million viewers for the ABC broadcast compared to 11.9 million last year. Next: September 2017 Next: September 2017

Los Angeles
#4 Award Show
For the 73rd edition of the show, British comedian Ricky Gervais returned to host the show for the fourth time—even though he swore after the third time he would never host the show again. His sometimes racy performance drew mixed reviews, and NBC’s ratings decreased slightly to 18.5 million versus last year’s 19.31 million. The Hollywood Foreign Press Association presents the awards to honor work in movies and television. Next: January 8, 2017

New York
#5 Award Show (new to the list)
According to Nielsen and CBS, the 70th annual tribute to Broadway scored its largest audience since 2001. Hosted by James Corden and taking place at the Beacon Theatre, the show delivered 8.73 million viewers, up 35 percent from 2015. Boosted by the hit musical Hamilton, which was the biggest winner at the ceremony, the show started on a somber note as it began with a moment of silence to honor victims of the shooting the Orlando gay nightclub Pulse, which occurred just hours before the show. Next: June 11, 2017

Los Angeles
#7 Award Show
The 24th edition of the sports awards—hosted by John Cena at the Microsoft Theater and televised on ABC—offered new sponsor integrations. Capital One brought a unique 360-degree photo angle to the red carpet with the Capital One Quicksilver Cam. Booking.com took over ESPN’s Snapchat Discover edition, while sports retailer Fanatics created a signature jersey wall on the Espys red carpet. The promotions weren’t enough to boost the show’s ratings, which dropped to 5.5 million viewers compared to the 7.7 million last year. Basketball star LeBron James collected the most awards of the evening. Next: July 2017

Los Angeles
#8 Award Show
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People has taken an “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” approach to its annual award show ever since the ceremony changed TV networks from Fox to TV One in 2014. The show has kept the same host (Anthony Anderson) and the same venue (the Pasadena Civic Auditorium), which will be the same formula the ceremony will have in 2017. At the 47th edition of the show, Empire won the most prizes, with Queen Latifah, Michael B. Jordan, John Legend, and Anderson among the other winners. The show had 1.1 million viewers—a significant increase from the 596,000 who watched in the previous year. Next: February 11, 2017