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Oscars Ratings Plunge to Four-Year Low as Viewership Drops Nearly a Quarter

5 articles | Updated 2h ago | Created 7h ago

The recent broadcast marked the lowest viewership for any Oscars ceremony since February of last year, drawing just under 17.9 million total audience members across ABC and Hulu platforms while ending a four-year streak of increasing attendance figures reported by Nielsen data providers during this period; despite these numbers representing an approximate nine percent decrease from previous years' tallies which previously reached nearly twenty millions viewers following Disney's inclusion in mobile viewing statistics, industry analysts note that the event still managed to secure roughly 5.3...

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    The Nielsen ratings revealed that ABC and Hulu averaged approximately 17.9 million total audience members during the Sunday telecast of the event.
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    This year marked a significant decline in viewership with an estimated drop to about nine percent compared last season's figures, ending four consecutive years where audiences increased over time periods spanning from two hundred twenty-two through one thousand seven ninety-nine and beyond into future dates extending past three million people watching television programs on screens worldwide across various platforms including streaming services.
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    The show recorded a rating of 3.92 among adults aged eighteen to forty nine representing roughly five point thirty four millions viewers which represented the lowest audience count since two hundred twenty-two according to available data sources.
Mar 18 "Oscars Viewership Hits Low" (Deccanchronicle) reported a rating of 3.92 among adults aged 18–45, representing approximately 5.3 million viewers and marking an approximate decline from last year's figure.
Mar 17 "Oscars Audience Down 9% To Four-Year Low On ABC & Hulu" (Deadline) stated that the audience for Sunday's event fell to a four-year low with approximately 20 million viewers on Disney platforms, down from nearly 4.5 times more than last year.

The Oscars event recorded a rating of 3.92 (approximately 5.3 million viewers) among adults aged 18–49, marking a significant decline from last year's higher ratings.

— (Deccanchronicle)

Despite the low numbers for ABC and Hulu alone totaling around 17-18 million people viewing on Sunday telecast of this ceremony

— (Nypost)
Oscars Viewership Hits Low

The 98th Oscar ceremony saw total U.S. television and streaming viewership drop from 19.7 million to 17.9 million due to shifting audience habits toward digital platforms, while the show's key demographic rating also fell by 14%. Despite this decline in attendance compared to previous years like its all-time high of 57 million visitors since 20th century and Paul Thomas Anderson dominated with six major awards including Best Picture

Abysmal Oscars TV ratings revealed — after snorefest awards ceremony

The 98th Academy Awards drew its lowest TV audience in three years at just under 17 million viewers on ABC/Hulu while generating significantly higher engagement online through memes and short-form content clips. Industry insiders attribute this decline to modern audiences' preference for faster digital entertainment, prompting the Oscars to plan a move from traditional broadcast television to YouTube by 2029.

2026 Oscars telecast scores 17.9 million viewers, down 9% from last year
Nielsen: the Oscars drew 17.86M viewers on ABC and Hulu, down about 9% from 2025; the show delivered a 3.92 rating among those 18-49, or about 5.34M viewers (Rick Porter/The Hollywood Reporter) Main Link | Mediagazer Permalink
Oscars Audience Down 9% To 4-Year Low On ABC & Hulu

The 98th Oscars audience dropped to a four-year low of roughly 17.9 million viewers due partly to an extended ceremony runtime, though it remained higher than other major award shows like the Golden Globes and Emmys. Warner Bros dominated with eleven wins while Netflix secured seven trophies including three for *Frankenstein*, amidst notable performances from Paul Thomas Anderson's film which took home six awards total.