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Oscars Continue Their Downward Spiral with Ratings Drop
But if there ever was a year people should've tuned in...
It's not been a great year for the Academy. After initially presenting the wrong Best Picture winner and including a living producer in the In Memoriam montage, the body behind the Oscars was dealt a third blow Monday morning, when it was revealed that the previous evening's Oscars ceremony wasn't exactly a ratings juggernaut.
The early numbers for the bloated, nearly four-hour ceremony show a 22.4 rating overnight, on pace to be down 4 percent from last year, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The 2016 Oscars eventually scored a 23.4 rating, which translated to a 34.43 million viewers overall -- but that's still a pretty low bar to aim for since it was the third-lowest rated show since 1974. The Jon Stewart-hosted 2008 ceremony still ranks as the least-watched Oscars every, with 32 million viewers and a 20.8 overnight rating.
Check out our complete Oscars coverage here
The 2017 Academy Awards' dip in the ratings this year is especially surprising since the Golden Globes, Screen Actors Guild Awards and Grammys all demonstrated ratings growth this year. Perhaps more people will tune in to next year's ceremony in the hopes of seeing another twist ending.
But hey, at least Moonlightwon Best Picture, amirite?
