The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame had its most-watched induction ceremony ever on New Year’s Day, with ABC’s primetime special hitting an average 4.6 million viewers.
That’s a 49% increase from the year before, when the induction ceremony reached 3.1 million viewers. The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony also improved its rating among the key adults age 18-49 demographic, nabbing a 0.5 — up 39% from the 0.36 achieved in 2023, and tying the show’s best demo rating in 20 years, since March 21, 2004.
In addition to setting personal bests, the three-hour special also became the most-watched primetime entertainment program on broadcast television in six years, since Jan. 1 2019.
Though it aired on New Year’s Day 2025, the record-breaking ceremony celebrated the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame’s 2024 class of inductees, which included Mary J. Blige, Cher, Dave Matthews Band, Foreigner, Peter Frampton, Kool & the Gang, Ozzy Osbourne and A Tribe Called Quest. Additional recognitions went to Alexis Korner, John Mayall and Big Mama Thornton for Musical Influence; Jimmy Buffett, MC5, Dionne Warwick and Norman Whitfield for Musical Excellence; and Suzanne De Passe for the Ahmet Ertegun Award.
The ceremony originally took place in Cleveland, Ohio on Oct. 19 before airing on ABC on New Year’s Day and landing on Hulu the day after. Along with the inductees and award winners, artists including Busta Rhymes, Dr. Dre, Demi Lovato, Dua Lipa, Jelly Roll and Keith Urban made appearances.
The ceremony was produced by Joel Gallen and Tenth Planet Productions, with executive producers including John Sykes, Joel Peresman and Joel Gallen.
