Ratings: Oscars Rise for First Time in 5 Years, With Host-less Telecast

Matt Webb Mitovich
Updated

Ratings for the Academy Awards appear to have rebounded in 2019, following four straight years of declines.

According to very preliminary numbers, Sunday night’s host-free, tight-and-bright, 200-minute ABC telecast scored a 21.6 rating in the metered market households. That’s up 14 percent from last year’s 18.9, which marked an all-time low and ultimately translated into the ceremony’s smallest audience ever (26.5 million).

This year’s Oscars telecast came on the heels of more than six months of headline-making hiccups, starting with the Academy backtracking on the addition of a Best Popular Film category, peaking with the controversy that led to Kevin Hart being replaced with ultimately no one as host, and ending with the near-immediate reversal of a decision to hand out a few awards during commercial breaks.

TVLine readers gave Sunday night’s host-less telecast an average grade of “B,” with 79 percent saying they preferred the uncluttered format.

The preliminary audience for this year’s Oscars will be reported later this morning. Total audiences for the previous 10 telecasts are listed below.

2018: 26.5 million (host Jimmy Kimmel)

2017: 32.9 million (host Jimmy Kimmel)

2016: 34.3 million (host Chris Rock)

2015: 37.3 million (host Neil Patrick Harris)

2014: 43.7 million (host Ellen DeGeneres)

2013: 40.3 million (host Seth MacFarlane)

2012: 39.3 million (host Billy Crystal)

2011: 37.9 million (hosts Anne Hathaway/James Franco, ugh)

2010: 41.3 million (hosts Steve Martin/Alec Baldwin)

2009: 36.9 million (host Hugh Jackman)

Related stories:

Get more from TVLine: Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Newsletter

  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next