NAACP Image Awards Audience Grows By 72% As Ceremony Returns To CBS

The 54th annual NAACP Image Awards seem to have benefitted from returning to CBS this year.

The ceremony, which was held Saturday at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium, grew its audience by 72% compared to last year, drawing 2.9 million total viewers in its simulcast. The telecast aired across BET and CBS, as well as several other Paramount Global networks (including BET Her, CMT, Comedy Central, Logo, MTV, MTV2, Paramount Network, Pop TV, Smithsonian, TV Land, and VH1).

The awards show was back on CBS for a second time, after first airing on the broadcaster in 2021. This year, the ceremony garnered 1.5 million viewers on the broadcast network alone.

On social media, the Image Awards generated more than 10.4M social interactions, up 1,658% year-over-year, according to BET.

Angela Bassett won big at Saturday’s ceremony. The actress took home three trophies: for Outstanding Actress in a drama series for 9-1-1, Supporting Actress for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, and the biggest award of the night, Entertainer of the Year.

RELATED: NAACP Image Awards Red Carpet Photos

One of the big surprises of the night was Will Smith winning the Outstanding Actor award for Emancipation. The actor was not in attendance and category presenter Janelle Monáe accepted the trophy on his behalf.

Read the full list of winners here.