It was revealed on January 2nd that the average viewership (households) for the 76th NHK Kohaku Uta Gassen, which was broadcast on NHK General TV on December 31st, 2025, was 30.8% (Kanto region, Video Research survey, same below) for Part 1 (starting at 7:20 pm) and 35.2% for Part 2 (starting at 9 pm). This is a significant recovery from last year's 32.7%, which was the second worst rating in history.
The viewership rate for the Kohaku Uta Gassen hit 81.4% in 1963, but has fallen below 60% since 1986. Since 2004, it has been hovering around 40%, and over the past five years, in 2020, it was 34.2% for Part 1 and 40.3% for Part 2, in 2021 it was 31.5% for Part 1 and 34.3% for Part 2, in 2022 it was 31.2% for Part 1 and 35.3% for Part 2, in 2023 it was 29.0% for Part 1 and 31.9% for Part 2, and in 2024 it was 29.0% for Part 1 and 32.7% for Part 2.
The 76th NHK Kohaku Uta Gassen will be broadcast on December 31, 2025, from 7:20 pm to 11:45 pm (with some breaks for news) under the theme "Connecting, Connecting, New Year's Eve." Hosted by Hiroyuki Yoshi, Haruka Ayase, Mio Imada, and announcer Naoko Suzuki, the White Team won for the second year in a row.
