President Donald Trump was the first sitting president to ever host the Kennedy Center Honors. A prediction of record ratings from the “master of ceremonies” fell flat with the award show hitting its lowest ratings ever.
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Kennedy Center Honors Ratings Fall
Trump served as the host for the 48th annual Kennedy Center Honors, which were taped on Dec. 7 and aired on Dec. 23 on CBS and Paramount+, units of Paramount Skydance (NASDAQ:PSKY).
Ahead of the show’s airing, Trump suggested fans would love him as the host.
“Tell me what you think of my ‘Master of Ceremony’ abilities. If really good, would you like me to leave the Presidency in order to make ‘hosting’ a full time job?” Trump said on Truth Social.
Trump also shared a prediction with reporters ahead of the taping of the award show.
“This will be the highest rated show that they’ve ever done,” Trump predicted.
Trump’s prediction appears to have fallen flat with data from Nielsen showing 3.01 million viewers live and same-day for the award show, as reported by The Hollywood Reporter.
This marks the lowest ratings in the show’s history and a drop of 26% year-over-year.
Trump’s previous comments took aim at award show host Jimmy Kimmel, who has never actually hosted the Kennedy Center Honors.
“I’ve watched some of the people that host. Jimmy Kimmel was horrible, and some of these people, if I can’t beat out Jimmy Kimmel in terms of talent, then I don’t think I should be president,” Trump told reporters previously.
The annual awards celebrate the contributions to performing arts by individuals who are recognized, with friends and peers performing tributes. The 2025 Kennedy Center Honor winners were KISS, George Strait, Sylvester Stallone, Gloria Gaynor and Michael Crawford.
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Bad Time for Bad Ratings?
The record-low in viewership for the Kennedy Center Honors comes with controversy surrounding a recent name change of the venue that hosts the award show. Trump recently announced it was renamed The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for Performing Arts.
The name change has led to several scheduled acts cancelling their appearances at the performing arts center.
Record lows in viewership for the 2025 award show also come during Paramount Skydance’s last year for rights to air the annual event.
While record-low viewership would normally lead to fewer interested parties in acquiring the rights, The Hollywood Reporter shares that this is different, given Trump’s involvement.
“The show will be another opportunity for a media company to do a deal with Trump, and there is no shortage of companies that could be willing to engage,” the media outlet writes.
The report says Paramount Skydance could land a new deal for the show, or a company like Netflix Inc (NASDAQ:NFLX) could step up to land the rights.
Netflix currently streams The Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, which also takes place at the Kennedy Center.
The current deal from Netflix to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD), which will require the blessing of the Trump administration, could also factor into a potential deal for the award show, according to the report.
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Photo: fongbeerredhot via Shutterstock
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