Golden Globes’ Polymarket Partnership Slammed by Viewers: ‘New Low for This Humiliating Awards Show’

The telecast cut to the prediction market odds throughout the show, encouraging viewers to place bets

Polymarket
The Golden Globes partnered with prediction market platform Polymarket for its 83rd awards show to the dismay of viewers at home (Credit: Isaac Feldberg/X)

The Golden Globes’ partnership with prediction market platform Polymarket rankled some viewers during Sunday’s telecast, who slammed the integration as “a new low” and “an end-times indicator” as statistics on who was most likely to win certain categories encouraged viewers to place bets throughout the show.

Throughout the night, announcers Marc Malkin and Kevin Frazier teased upcoming categories like Best Podcast and Original Song by showing betting prediction metrics from the app.

“Polymarket odds on the telecast of the golden globes,” one X user wrote. “Just push me in front of a bus at this point.”

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Another X user called the promotional spot “cringe hunger games bulls–t.”

“The encouragement of gambling across all forms of American ‘entertainment’ is such an end-times indicator,” the user added.

Many Penske Media Corp-owned media companies, like Variety, Deadline and The Hollywood Reporter, promoted the partnership on their websites with a real-time ticker during the show and through sponsored posts on their social media feeds, further boosting the Polymarket partnership.

The Golden Globes are owned by Penske Media Eldridge.

“Our partnership with Polymarket unlocks a groundbreaking new frontier, redefining how audiences engage with and connect to the content they love,” Craig Perreault, president of Penske Media Corp and part owner of the Golden Globes, said in a statement last week announcing the partnership. “Deepening the connection between fans and their favorite films, shows, and actors strengthens the entertainment industry and highlights the award-winning content celebrated at the Golden Globes.”

Social media users were not as complimentary of the inclusion of the partnership in the broadcast. “We’re so deep into capitalism that the golden globes are showing polymarket betting odds on award winners,” another X user wrote. “We’re so cooked.”

For more viral reactions to the Polymarket partnership, keep reading:

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Tess Patton

Tess joined TheWrap as the company’s first reporting fellow in 2024. Tess is from Birmingham, Alabama and attended the University of Southern California, graduating with degrees in theatre and journalism. She also served as the executive editor for Annenberg Media, closely overseeing coverage of campus protests amidst the Israel-Hamas War.

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