The official ratings for the 48th Annual Kennedy Center Honors are in, and the Dec. 23 telecast averaged 3.01 million viewers on CBS, according to Nielsen Live + Same Day Panel + Big Data.
That is an all-time low audience for the annual special, down from 4.1M Live+Same Day viewers last year when it aired on a Sunday with a football-boosted 60 Minutes lead-in. This year, the event was broadcast on a Tuesday.
Established in 1978 to celebrate “individuals whose unique contributions have shaped our world,” the Kennedy Center Honors recognized Sylvester Stallone, Michael Crawford, KISS, George Strait, and Gloria Gaynor at the 2026 ceremony, which for the first time ever was hosted by a sitting U.S. President in Trump who previously headlined the NBC reality series The Apprentice.
“At the request of the Board, and just about everybody else in America, I am hosting the event,” he wrote on Truth Social Dec. 23, plugging the special to his followers. “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?”
This year’s Kennedy Center Honors was held amid a series of controversial moves surrounding the institution since Trump returned to office in January. They have included replacing most members of the Board of Trustees appointed by his Democratic predecessors, Trump becoming Chairman and, most recently, the name change of the memorial to The Trump Kennedy Center, which was announced Dec. 18, after the Kennedy Center Honors ceremony had taken place Dec. 7 but before its telecast aired on CBS Dec. 23. There have been a string of cancellations for previously scheduled performances as a result, including several over the past week.
