Oscars pick up award for least-watched show
The 80th anniversary edition of the Academy Awards, dominated by European stars and films that played poorly at the box office, averaged 32 million viewers, entering the record books as the least-watched Oscar telecast ever.
The national viewer tally reported by Nielsen Media Research for ABC’s live, three-hour-plus telecast on Sunday was down about 1m viewers from the previous record low, set in 2003 when the Oscars were on just after the US-led invasion of Iraq.
The 2003 programme was hosted by comic actor Steve Martin and featured the musical Chicago as best picture.
Sunday’s broadcast, with comedian Jon Stewart making his second appearance as host, now ranks as the smallest US TV audience since 1974, when actual viewer totals first became available.
By contrast, the most watched Oscar broadcast on record was the 1998 show, when blockbuster Titanic sailed off with a record-tying 11 awards, including Best Picture.
A total of 55m Americans tuned in that year. Even that figure pales in comparison to the audience that tunes in annually to the National Football League championship Super Bowl game, which this year drew 97.5m viewers.
American Idol, the most popular US series, averages 30m viewers a week with its Tuesday night broadcast. It debuted this season with 33.5m.
The weak ratings for the broadcast came as no surprise given that many movies showcased — There Will Be Blood, Michael Clayton, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street — generated little enthusiasm among moviegoers despite critical raves.
The night’s big winner, No Country For Old Men, which claimed four awards including Best Picture and Best Drama, grossed a modest $64m at the north American box office.
Only one movie among the five nominated for best picture, breakout comedy Juno, crossed the $100m box office market domestically.
That film managed just one win for Best Original Screenplay.
Still, the awards show ranks as the year’s highest-rated entertainment special and a cash cow for Walt Disney Co’s ABC, which raked in an average of $1.8m for each 30-second spot.
