NEW YORK – The evasive move to Monday by NBC's "63rd Annual Golden Globes Awards" may have given it a slight boost in the ratings over last year's telecast, which battled ABC's "Desperate Housewives"-led Sunday-night juggernaut.
But this year, the Globes broadcast faced a different daunting rival: the final two hours of the four-hour launch of the new season of FOX's thriller "24."
Monday, the three-hour "Golden Globes" drew 18.7 million viewers, according to preliminary Nielsen Media Research figures, up about 2 million viewers from last year's total.
But "24" attracted a robust 14.9 million viewers, helping keep NBC's gains to a minimum.
By comparison, in 2004 — pre- "Housewives" and the increasingly popular "Grey's Anatomy" — the Globes broadcast drew 26.8 million viewers.
Final numbers for this year's faceoff are due Wednesday.
Last August, NBC announced it would move "The Golden Globes" from its traditional Sunday perch to Monday to steer clear of ABC's dual drama threat.
NBC is halfway through a 10-year contract with the Hollywood Foreign Press Association to air the party-like awards show.
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