No host? No problem, as Oscars TV ratings jump by 12 per cent
- The average audience of 29.6 million viewers was a victory for producers of the Academy Awards show, which ran 40 minutes shorter that the 2018 ceremony
The first host-free Academy Awards broadcast in 30 years attracted a 12 per cent bigger US television audience to Walt Disney Co’s ABC than last year’s record-low viewership, the network said on Monday.
Sunday night’s live telecast drew an average audience of 29.6 million viewers, according to Nielsen data released by ABC. In 2018, the Oscars show averaged 26.5 million viewers, a record low and down from 32.9 million in 2017.
This year’s ratings jump was a victory for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the show’s producers, who were under pressure to expand the audience as overall TV viewership is on the decline.
The ceremony opened with a performance by rock band Queen, featuring American Idol star Adam Lambert as lead vocalist. The show ran about 40 minutes shorter than the 2018 program and eschewed its typical opening monologue for short celebrity cameos.