There’s several talking points surrounding the Oscars this year. From the clash of the titans revived through Will Smith and Chris Rock to the dramatically robust gospel choir that sang over the “In Memoriam” segment, whether you like it or not, the Will Packer and Shayla Cowan-produced show certainly delivered an epic night to remember.
The lineup of winners presented one of the best moments for diversity at the Oscars with Questlove, Billie Eilish, Ariana DeBose, and Troy Kotsur all walking away with the coveted gold statuette. So, how did the ratings fair?
The 94th Academy Awards, celebrating achievements in motion picture arts and sciences, reported that 15.36 million viewers tuned into the Sunday night show, according to Statista. The stat marks a 47.7% increase from the 2021 Oscars, which took place in Downtown Los Angeles at Union Station.
In 2021, attendees were limited and masked as the pandemic roared on. About 10.4 million people watched the heavily political 2021 event, making it the lowest viewership of the Academy Awards in the last 20 years.
Based on reports from Live and Same Day Nielsen data, the amount of viewers totaled 16.6 million when including out-of-home viewership, with the 18-49 age demographic spiking at 73%, this according to a report from Variety.
The highest viewership for the awards show was reported in 2000 at 46.33 million. The subsequent years between 2001 and 2003 showed a slight decline following the 2000 awards show, with year 2003 landing at 33.04 million viewers.
The next few years would see decent numbers come in, averaging around 41.20 million viewers. However, the Oscars has experienced a steady decline since 2015. Of course, the last two years of viewership have been impacted by the pandemic and social unrest, where people were challenging systemic racism and discrimination.
However unfair it is to judge the 2022 Academy Awards by the same standards as previous years before the pandemic, there’s no question that the appeal the awards show once had to the U.S. audience has dwindled over the years.
