One year after delivering The Slap heard ’round the Internet, the Oscars saw its audience rise — and for a second straight year.
Sunday night’s ABC telecast averaged 18.7 million total viewers, up 12 percent from last year’s tally. And in the demo, the ceremony drew a 4.0 rating, up two tenths from 2022.
TVLine readers gave the Jimmy Kimmel-hosted, often-emotional ceremony an average grade of “C+.”
Last year, viewership for the Oscars surged for the first time in a long time, following a steady slide that over a decade saw its audience plummet 74 percent (to an all-time low of 10.4 million viewers in 2021). All told, the 2022 telecast — which brought back the concept of a host(s) and featured a 10 pm physical fracas between Will Smith and Chris Rock — wound up reporting 16.7 million viewers, up 60 percent from the final count for 2021 (though still the second-smallest Oscars audience on record). In the demo, that ABC broadcast was up 73 percent, with a 3.8 rating.
Elsewhere on Sunday night:
CBS | The Equalizer (5.4 mil/0.4) and East New York (4.1 mil/0.3) each dropped some eyeballs, with the latter also dipping in the demo.
NBC | Magnum P.I. dipped to a new audience low (3.2 mil) yet held steady in the demo (with a 0.3 rating). The Blacklist (1.8 mil/0.2) meanwhile ticked up in the demo.
FOX | The Simpsons (760K/0.2) and The Great North (610K/0.2) lost viewers, whereas Bob’s Burgers (810K/0.2) and Family Guy (1 mil/0.3) gained viewers.
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The Live+Same Day numbers reported in our ratings column do not reflect a show’s overall performance, given the increased use of delayed playback via DVR and streaming platforms, plus out-of-home viewing. These numbers (Nielsen fast nationals, unless denoted as finals) instead aim to simply illustrate trends or superlatives. This is only an exhibition, this is not a competition. Please, no wagering.
