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How Many People Watched the Oscars? Not as Many as ABC Would Have Liked
It was the lowest since 2009
The 87th Academy Awards are over! And while it was a great night for heartfelt speeches, it wasn't a great night for ratings. The ratings for Monday night's telecast of the awards show are in, and maybe people were washing their hair or running errands or something, because it was a six-year low for the festivities.
The Oscars drew 36.6 million total viewers, according to ABC, the lowest total since 2009, which also had 36.6 million viewers. That's down from last year's broadcast, which hit a 10-year high with 43.74 million viewers.
In the demo-specific ratings, the 87th Academy Awards notched a 10.8 rating among the 18-49-year-old crowd. That was the lowest number in that category for the Oscars since 2008, when the awards put up a 10.68. Maybe host Neil Patrick Harris should have scrapped that "magic" trick.
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However, it was still more than enough to crush the competition, as ABC dominated the night while other networks aired reruns.
As for red darpet coverage, ABC's Oscars Red Carpet Live topped out at 24.3 million viewers in its final half hour of coverage leading into the ceremony.
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