Tony Viewership Down, but CBS Leads with Sunday Ratings

The New York Times has reported ratings results for the Tony Awards, which helped to crown CBS as the winner of the most viewers of the night on Sunday, June 10th.

The 2007 American Theatre Wing's Tony Awards, presented by the League of American Theatres and Producers and the American Theatre Wing, aired live from Radio City Music Hall on CBS from 8 through 11 PM.  According to Nielsen's estimates, the combination of the Tony Awards and "60 Minutes" (airing from 7 to 8 PM) helped CBS attract the most viewers of the night.  However, the Tony Awards were down by about a million people in terms of viewership; this year's ceremony drew 6.2 million people and, of the networks, finished in fourth place for viewers between the ages of 18 and 49.  ABC, which aired two NBA finals games, won the latter demographic.

The ratings for the series finale of "The Sopranos," which aired on HBO opposite the Tony Awards, have not yet been announced.

Spring Awakening and The Coast of Utopia were the big winners of this year's Tony Awards, winning Best Musical and Best Play respectively.  Spring Awakening won eight Tonys, and The Coast of Utopia won seven.

The presenters included: Melina Kanakaredes, Jane Krakowski, Angela Lansbury, Robert Sean Leonard, John Mahoney, Audra McDonald, Cynthia Nixon, Bernadette Peters, David Hyde Pierce, Christopher Plummer, Liev Schreiber, Kevin Spacey, John Turturro, Usher, Sam Waterston, Vanessa Williams, Rainn Wilson, Harry Connick, Jr., Claire Danes, Jeff Daniels, Brian Dennehy, Carla Gugino, Neil Patrick Harris, Anne Heche, Marg Helgenberger, Judd Hirsch, Felicity Huffman, Eddie Izzard, and The Jersey Boys – John Lloyd Young, Christian Hoff, Daniel Reichard and J. Robert Spencer.

The Tonys are presented by the League of American Theatres and Producers and the American Theatre Wing. At the League, Gerald Schoenfeld is Chairman and Charlotte St. Martin is Executive Director. At the Wing, Sondra Gilman is Chairman, Doug Leeds is President and Howard Sherman is Executive Director. For Tony Award Productions, Elizabeth I. McCann is Managing Producer and Joey Parnes is Coordinating Producer.  Ricky Kirshner and Glenn Weiss/White Cherry Entertainment are Executive Producers of the 2007 Tony Awards.  Mr. Weiss will also serve as Director of the 2007 Tony Awards.

Visit www.tonyawards.com for more information.