The Oscars drew 17.9 million viewers on Sunday night, a 9 percent decline from last year’s telecast, according to Nielsen.
The ratings snapped a four-year rise for the Oscars and followed declines for this year’s Grammy Awards and Golden Globe Awards as well. It was the first time in several years that viewership fell for all three major award shows.
Reviews for the Oscars telecast, as well as for Conan O’Brien’s return as host, were mostly positive. “One Battle After Another” won the award for best picture, and “Sinners,” a box office hit, scored four Oscars, including Michael B. Jordan’s first for best actor.
Oscars organizers pushed the ceremony to a later date this year to avoid a conflict with the Winter Olympics. But a different sporting event may have created some unwanted competition.
The World Baseball Classic — a tournament that takes place every few years and is quickly becoming baseball’s version of the World Cup — is underway, and Sunday night featured a close semifinal game between the United States and the Dominican Republic. It aired on Fox Sports 1 and Fox Deportes, the network’s Spanish-language sports channel.
That game drew 7.4 million viewers, Nielsen said, a significant number for cable.
A decade or two ago, when the Oscars reliably attracted more than 30 million or 40 million viewers, media companies were reluctant to program a major sports event or TV series opposite the show. But at this point, the Super Bowl is the only event that media companies will go out of their way to avoid.
The Grammys dropped to 14.4 million viewers this year; that show attracted nearly 17 million two years ago. The Golden Globes drew 8.7 million viewers this year.
Still, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which organizes the Oscars, does not have to sweat the ratings decline as much as it would have in the past. ABC’s half-century partnership with the Oscars will end after 2028. In 2029, the Oscars will begin streaming exclusively on YouTube.
The Nielsen’s ratings figure includes the audience that watched the ceremony on ABC and streamed it on Hulu.
John Koblin covers the television industry for The Times.
The post Oscars Viewership Slides 9%, Its First Drop Since 2021 appeared first on New York Times.
