The 98th Oscars hosted by Conan O’Brien noticed a dip in rankings after a number of years of good points. The Walt Disney Co on Tuesday stated that just below 17.9 million viewers tuned into Sunday’s present, which aired reside on ABC and was streamed on Hulu.
The rankings are down 9% from final yr’s post-pandemic excessive of 19.7 million viewers who tuned in for O’Brien’s inaugural yr as host, when “Anora” swept the awards. The present additionally yielded a extra vital 14% decline from final yr in viewership from adults aged 18-49.
Sunday’s Oscars noticed a showdown between two Warner Bros. movies, “One Battle After Another” and “Sinners,” with the previous successful greatest image and director. Michael B. Jordan received greatest actor for “Sinners,” probably the most nominated movie in historical past, with 16, that additionally broke the document for probably the most losses by a single movie, with 12.
And but regardless of the dip in viewers, the Oscars are nonetheless the No. 1 primetime leisure telecast of the 2025-2026 season. The Golden Globes, which aired on CBS in January, drew an viewers of 8.7 million viewers which was itself down 7% from the yr prior.
Engagement for the Oscars rose by different metrics, although. Primetime social impressions went up over 42% this yr. And there have been over 129 million video views on Academy social platforms all through the evening.
The Oscars, like many different awards exhibits, noticed an all-time low in 2021 through the pandemic with solely 10.4 million viewers. At its peak within the Nineties it typically attracted round 45 million viewers. Its peak got here in 1998, when “Titanic” received greatest image and 57.2 million individuals watched.
Broadcast rankings will not be a metric of the success for the Oscars in 2029, when the present strikes to YouTube for its one hundred and first awards.
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