Despite one of the most highly anticipatedopening monologuesin Oscars history, and acontroversythat just wouldn’t go away, the88th Annual Academy Awardsfailed to live up to past expectations. And when it comes to live ratings, the telecast hit an 8-year low. This despite the fact that hostChris Rockcame out swinging, holding his momentum throughout the night, andLeonardo DiCapriowinning his first everOscarfor Best Actor.
The88th Annual Academy Awardstook the diversity issue head-on, addressing the #OscarsSoWhite campaign right out of the gate. And some big surprises kept the show humming. ButOscars 2016is going down in the record books as one of the lowest rated telecasts in recent memory, with a 23.1/37 in metered market results. This was an 8 year low for the awards show, which is coming up on its 90th Anniversary.
Ratings for the88th Annual Academy Awardswere down 6% from last year’s ceremony, which pulled in 24.6/39 from 56 markets across the U.S.Neil Patrick Harrishosted the 2015 Oscars, tying with the 2011 telecast for third lowest ratedAcademy AwardssinceChris Rocklast hosted the ceremony back in 2005. Only the 2009 show hosted byHugh Jackmanand the 2008 show hosted byJon Stewartwere lower. The88th Annual Academy Awardsdipped below both the 2008 and 2009 ratings numbers.
Chris Rock’s 2005 hosting gig brought in the biggest ratingsThe Academy Awardshas seen in the past decade with a 30.1/43 MM rating. That year,Million Dollar Babytook home best picture, with the show pulling in 42.14 million viewers.Chris Rock’s latest hosting gig was down 23%, which is a huge decline in viewership. The show averaged a 13.5/7 among adults 18-49 according to Nielsen, dropping 3% since the 2015 Oscars.
Last year’s Academy Award telecast brought in 37.3 million total viewers and an 11.0/26 rating in its key demographic. The total numbers for88th Annual Academy Awardsare not in yet, so it’s not known how many millions of viewers ultimately tuned in. We’ll be sure to update you as more information arrives. Did you watch?
