TVSquad

She's an experienced host, an Oscar-winner, a Broadway star. But is Whoopi Goldberg hosting the 62nd Tony Awards the answer for the struggling annual broadcast? The Tony Awards, which honors the best in Broadway theater is considered one of the four major entertainment awards, along with the Oscar, Emmy and Grammy. But the Tonys have been losing viewership year after year despite the stars lured onto the broadcast. After having no single host the past two years, CBS has tapped Whoopi to be the emcee for the June 15 live broadcast from Radio City Music Hall in hopes that she'll make a difference in the Nielsens. The last single host was Hugh Jackman in 2005.

While this is Whoopi's first turn as Tony host, she is well regarded for her four stints as Oscar hostess. At the most recent Oscars, when Whoopi was left out of the host-highlight clip package of years gone by, she was ticked off and talked about it the morning after on The View. Perhaps doing the Tonys will be her way of sticking to the Oscars?


"I'm very excited to be hosting the Tony Awards. I love Broadway and I'm thrilled to be doing anything for the first time. I'm gonna have a blast," she said in a release. Whoopi really does love Broadway. She got her start when her one-woman show was staged on Broadway by Mike Nichols. After that, she became an overnight success. She won a Tony for that, and another recently as producer of Thoroughly Modern Millie in 2002.

The Tonys are presented by the American Theatre Wing and the League of American Theatres and Producers, the Tonys have been televised on CBS since 1978. The show has never done well in the Nielsens, even after they cut it back from three hours to two (putting the first hour on PBS). Last year's ceremony fell to its lowest ratings in at least 14 years, averaging just 6.2 million viewers. Of course, the competition that Sunday night was The Sopranos, but still...

Goldberg's humor and high-profile could be a draw for the Tonys, but one of the key problems with the show is simply the lack of familiarity viewers have with the current shows on Broadway. Star-power can only do so much to get people to tune in, as past broadcasts have shown. Whoopi is a star, so that's a help, and her regular promotion of the Tony broadcast on The View should also help. Will last year's 6.2 million double? Doubtful. Maybe 10 million.