Golden Globes 2013: Ratings win for Tina Fey, Amy Poehler show

By Scott Collins

Jan. 14, 2013 12 AM PT

Ricky who?

The 2013 Golden Globes erased memories of former host Ricky Gervais as the NBC show on Sunday produced its best ratings in six years.

Hosted for the first time by Tina Fey (of “30 Rock”) and Amy Poehler (“Parks and Recreation”), the Globes drew an impressive 19.7 million total viewers, according to Nielsen.

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That was up 17% compared with last year’s telecast. And even better for NBC, the viewing among adults ages 18 to 49 -- the group most advertisers care about -- soared 28%.

The Globes demolished their competition for the night even though the CBS lineup got a great head start with an AFC championship game that ran into prime time in many markets.

First tapped for the 2010 telecast, Gervais won both fervent fans and diehard detractors with his barbs at celebrities, jokes which some industry veterans felt were out of place at an event meant to celebrate Hollywood. Nevertheless, the Hollywood Foreign Press Assn. invited him back twice as host.

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As Poehler joked onstage Sunday: “When you run afoul of the Foreign Press, they make you host this show two more times.”

Whether Fey and Poehler will repeat next year remains unclear, but the ratings suggest the Globes organizers may have found a good team that boosts viewership.

What did you think of Sunday’s show?

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Twitter: @scottcollinsLAT