Oscar ratings plunge to a record low
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NEW YORK — American television viewers could barely stifle a yawn for Hollywood’s biggest night, with the Academy Awards plunging to a record-low viewership of 26.5 million people in the U.S.
The numbers were also down in Canada from last year, with an average of 4.5 million people watching on CTV, the broadcaster said Monday citing preliminary data from ratings tracker Numeris.
In the U.S., the Nielsen company said that’s a 20 per cent drop from the 33 million who watched the 2017 show, which was also hosted by Jimmy Kimmel. Oscar viewership is often tied to the box office muscle of the big nominees, and best picture winner “The Shape of Water” only grossed $57.4 million in the United States.
It’s the first time the Oscars have drawn fewer than 30 million people, in Nielsen records that go back to 1974. The Academy Awards are often the most-watched television program of the year after the Super Bowl, but this year’s Winter Olympics opening ceremony from Pyeongchang reached 27.8 million.
