As the internet fills with sad stories of viewers who dutifully sat through the whole Oscars ceremony, switching off when the best picture was announced as La La Land, and so missing the most dramatic moment in Oscars’ history – so the ratings are likely to come as little comfort to the Academy.
Just 32.9m people watched Sunday night’s show, down 3% overall year-on-year, and dropping 13% among adults between 18-49. That represents a nine-year-low, and makes this year’s ceremony the third-least-watched of the century.
This was in spite of good reviews for first-time host Jimmy Kimmel and a frontrunner going into the ceremony – La La Land – which had proved a big public hit; usually an indication that viewership will rise.
Last year’s ceremony was hosted for the second time by Chris Rock and had a viewership of 34m – an 8% fall from the previous year, but with just a 4% drop for the 18-49 demographic.
Rock also hosted the most successful ceremony this century so far, back in 2005, when 42.1m viewers tuned in to see Clint Eastwood’s Million Dollar Baby take best picture. A recent high water mark came in 2014, when Ellen DeGeneres hosted, 12 Years a Slave triumphed and 43.7m people tuned in.
In 1998, a record 57.3m people watched James Cameron’s Titanic romance trawl its way to 11 wins.
Oscars ceremonies this century
2016 34.4 million, Spotlight (Chris Rock)
2015 37.3 million, Birdman (Neil Patrick Harris)
2014 43.7 million, 12 Years a Slave (Ellen DeGeneres)
2013 40.3 million, Argo (Seth MacFarlane)
2012 39.3 million, The Artist (Billy Crystal)
2011 37.9 million, The King’s Speech (Anne Hathaway/James Franco)
2010 41.3 million, The Hurt Locker (Steve Martin/Alec Baldwin)
2009 36.3 million, Slumdog Millionaire (Hugh Jackman)
2008 32.0 million, No Country for Old Men (Jon Stewart)
2007 40. 2 million, The Departed (Ellen DeGeneres)
2006 38.9 million, Crash (Jon Stewart)
2005 42.1 million, Million Dollar Baby (Chris Rock)
2004 43.5 million, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (Billy Crystal)
2003 33.0 million, Chicago (Steve Martin)
2002 41.8 million, A Beautiful Mind (Whoopi Goldberg)
2001 42.9 million, Gladiator (Steve Martin)
