Oscar Viewership Hits All-Time Low With 23.6 Million
Deadline ^ | February 10, 2020 | Nellie Andreeva
It was a historic 92nd Academy Awards with a first Best Picture recipient not in the English language in Parasite adding an element of surprise to a largely predictable winners list. There was something historic in the ratings for the 2020 Oscars too — an historic low.
Last year, the Academy Awards bet on no traditional host, kicked off the night with an energetic performance by Queen and Adam Lambert, employed “not hosts” with Saturday Night Live pedigree (Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph) to do an opening monologue, kept the show’s length under 3.5 hours and created a musical moment with Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper’s performance of “Shallow.”
The result was the first ratings increase in five years, so the Oscars tried to replicate the formula Sunday: no traditional host, high-octane opening number by Janelle Monae. monologue by SNL alums Steve Martin and Chris Rock, and a surprise music performance by Eminem aimed at creating a buzzy moment.
But the ceremony, which clocked in at 3 hours and 35 minutes — up from 3 hours, 23 minutes in 2019 — could not repeat last year’s ratings turnaround, drawing 23.6 million total viewers and a 5.3 rating in the adults 18-49 demographic, based on Nielsen’s Live+Same Day Fast National ratings ordered by ABC. That is down double-digits from last year’s 29.6 million and a 7.7 rating of among adults 18-49.
Overall, the Oscars was the most watched entertainment special since last year’s ceremony, topping the Grammy Awards and Golden Globes in total viewers. Other broadcast networks didn’t try to compete Sunday, with all airing repeats.
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