Oscars ratings hit 4-year high with ‘Barbenheimer’ boost

The Oscars can express gratitude to "Oppenheimer" and "Barbie" as they regained viewers lost during the pandemic, achieving the highest rating in four years with an average of 19.5 million viewers on Sunday night, according to Nielsen data released on Monday.

This figure signifies a 4% increase over 2023. In the previous year, the Oscars garnered over a million additional viewers within a seven-day period, thanks to delayed playback. Therefore, the final audience is expected to surpass the same-day figures reported by Nielsen.

After hitting an all-time low in 2021, a year marked by a general decline in award shows due to the pandemic, ABC has experienced consecutive increases, reclaiming a portion of that audience over the past three years.

The Academy and ABC chose to commence the show an hour earlier this year, shifting it to 7:00pm ET. The decision to coincide with Daylight Saving Time was expected to impact initial viewership. The goal was to conclude by 10:30pm ET, encouraging more viewers to stay engaged until the end.

This strategy has succeeded, as per ABC's report, with viewership reaching its peak at 21.9 million during the final half-hour. Jimmy Kimmel hosted the awards for the fourth time this year.

In 2020, the Oscars attracted 23.6 million viewers, marking the last instance the show surpassed the 20-million mark in same-day viewing, albeit recording a record-low performance.

The inclusion of more universally popular nominees, such as "Barbie" and the best-picture winner "Oppenheimer", has been a recognised method to bolster interest in the telecast.