Overview
- Nielsen’s final tally shows the Dec. 23 broadcast averaged 3.01 million viewers on CBS, the lowest on record and roughly a 25–26% drop from last year’s 4.1 million.
- President Donald Trump became the first sitting president to host the Honors, predicting top ratings before the show taped on Dec. 7 and later aired on CBS and streamed on Paramount+.
- The Kennedy Center’s board voted to rename the institution to include Trump’s name, drawing objections from Kennedy family members and prompting cancellations by some performers.
- CBS’s longstanding deal to air the Honors is up following this telecast, putting future broadcast rights in play for other networks or streamers.
- CBS did not use the new Trump-inclusive name on its broadcast, with a standards email instructing staff to omit it unless quoting, citing that only Congress can authorize an official change to a federal memorial’s name.