Sawt Falasteen - Golden Globes get five-year TV deal after rocky patch

A new deal will see the gala -- a major staging post for movies on the way to the Oscars -- airing on CBS, and livestreamed on Paramount+, starting next year.

The agreement solidifies a turnaround for the annual Tinseltown gathering, which was taken off air entirely in 2022 after long-simmering rumors of corruption and scandal burst into the open.

CBS carried this year's Globes, reportedly at a steeply discounted rate, which earned relatively respectable viewing figures despite a flailing host who was panned for crude jokes.

"We're so proud to continue to call CBS our home for the Golden Globes," said Jay Penske, Chairman and CEO of Penske Media and Dick Clark Productions, which took over the show from the scandal-plagued Hollywood Foreign Press Association.

"CBS stepped up for the Globes during a very challenging time, and inherently understood its value, while having the foresight, imagination and conviction to bring this iconic show to its many platforms."

The Globes -- which sees awards handed out for both television and film -- have worked to rehabilitate their image under new ownership led by US billionaire Todd Boehly.

Allegations of corruption and racism led to an industry boycott in recent years, with the 2022 edition a low-point where awards were announced on social media only after broadcaster NBC pulled the plug, with winning A-listers notably quiet about their triumphs.

Since then, the rowdy, obscure group of Los Angeles-based foreign journalists that created the Globes more than eight decades ago has been disbanded, and a wider net of overseas critics has been brought in to pick the winners.

This year's gala was boosted by key wins for Christopher Nolan's $950 million-grossing blockbuster "Oppenheimer," the film that went on to dominate the Oscars in March.

P.AbuBaker--SF-PST