Despite a solid job by Jimmy Kimmel and a bit of a Best Picture mix up at the end of the ceremony, Hollywood’s biggest night did not see any ratings gains.
The 89th Academy Awards, which was nearly four hours, got a 22.4/36 in metered market results. Hitting a nine-year low for the Tinseltown ceremony and down again for another consecutive year, that’s just over a 3% decline from what the Chris Rock-hosted and Spotlight Best Picture-winning 2016 Oscars snagged in early ratings.
Then an eight-year low in metered market numbers, the 88th Academy Awards went on to end up with 34.4 million viewers and a rating of 10.5/31 among adults 18-49 – also an eight-year low and the third least watched Oscars ever. All of which does not bode well for last night’s show in the later numbers.
The best that Hollywood’s big night has done in the first round of ratings over the past decade-plus was back in 2005. That show, also hosted by Rock, got a 30.1/43 metered market result. Clint Eastwood’s Million Dollar Baby won Best Picture that year, and the broadcast went on to score 42.1 million viewers in the final number. With 12 Years a Slave winning Best Picture, the 2014 Oscars fronted by Ellen DeGeneres drew the biggest overall audience of the 21st century, with 43.7 million tuning in.
