2009 Tony Awards Telecast Earned Ratings Boost, Up Slightly From 2008

The American Theatre Wing's 63rd Annual Antoinette Perry "Tony"® Awards were held at Radio City Music Hall on Sunday, June 7, 2009 and broadcast on the CBS Television Network. 

The Nielsen ratings for last night's Tony broadcast on CBS were the best since 2006, and included double-digits gains over last year's ratings among total viewers and key adult demographic groups.

TvbytheNumbers.com reports that while the telecast was nearly unwatched in the 18-49 demo, the Tony Awards earned a a 1.3 demo rating which was still up from last year's 1.1. The CBS telecast with Neil Patrick Harris as host showed a very rare improvement for a show that has been trending downward for many years.

For more information and full ratings news click here.

Additionally, TonyAwards.com, in partnership with IBM, has reported that traffic to the website was up by 57% unique visitors on Tony night.

Over 1,000 people gathered in Times Square to view the live Tony Awards simulcast. The event, in partnership with the Times Square Alliance and the City of New York, was hosted by WCBS-TV anchor Katie McGee, and four time Tony Nominee Tovah Feldshuh, and featured both a live broadcast of the pre-telecast Creative Art Awards as well as the CBS broadcast.

Nominations in 27 competitive categories for the American Theatre Wing's 63rd Annual Antoinette Perry "Tony"® Awards were announced on May 5th by Tony Award Winners Cynthia Nixon and Lin-Manuel Miranda from the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center.

The Antoinette Perry "Tony" Awards are bestowed annually on theatre professionals for distinguished achievement. The Tony is one of the most coveted awards in the entertainment industry and the annual telecast is considered one of the most prestigious programs on television. For more information visit tonyawards.com.

To view the complete list of 2009 Tony Award winners, click here.