Oscar Ratings Climb to Second-Worst Ever

Audience grew 59% over last year's, early Nielsen numbers show
By Bob Cronin,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 28, 2022 7:50 PM CDT
Oscar Ratings Climb to Second-Worst Ever
Steven Spielberg, takes a photo of Ariana DeBose, center, and Rita Moreno in the audience at the Oscars in Los Angeles.   (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

One thing that improved this year for the Oscars was the TV ratings. Preliminary Nielsen data show 15.4 million people watched Sunday night's ceremony, up 56% from last year's 9.85 million. Even with that jump, though, the show's performance ranks as historically poor—last year's numbers were the lowest on record, the New York Times reports. The early report didn't show whether viewership went up or down after Will Smith attacked Chris Rock onstage during the broadcast. Early viewership numbers are adjusted in the days after the broadcast, as West Coast audiences and livestream viewing are added. ABC plans to update its figures on Tuesday, per Deadline. (More Oscars stories.)

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