The 95th Oscars telecast on ABC drew an average audience of 18.7 million total viewers, up 12% from a year ago, according to Nielsen fast national ratings.
Viewership for the awards show grew for the second straight year and was the highest since 2020, but still well below the pre-streaming era, when the Academy Awards could be counted on to deliver 30 million homes.
The show generated a 4 rating among adults 18 to 49 years old, up 5%, Nielsen said.
The Oscars was the most-watched awards show on any network since 2020, topping The Grammy Awards and the Emmy Awards.
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According to Vizio’s Inscape data unit, The Oscars delivered 5.67% of all minutes watched on March 12, the most of any program.
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Combined with red-carpet shows and other shoulder programming, The Oscars accounted for 7.52% of watch hours, nearly double the No. 2 show, The Players Championship golf tournament.
With The Oscars, ABC had 10.18% of minutes watched on Sunday and Saturday as well, Inscape said. ■
