2024 Oscars Ratings Get 'Kenergy,' Growing to 19.5 Million Viewers [UPDATE]

Sunday's Oscars were more than "Ken-ough" for ABC. On Monday, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced that ratings for the 96th Academy Awards on ABC drew an average audience of 19.5 million total viewers and a 3.81 rating in the adults 18 through 49 demo. With the numbers, the Oscars grew for the third straight year in total viewers, surpassing 2023's totals by nearly 1 million viewers. Update: On Wednesday, March 20, ABC announced that the 96th Oscars grew to 21.01 million total viewers and hit a 4.35 rating among the 18-49 demo over seven days of multiplatform viewing across ABC, Hulu and digital platforms. According to Nielsen’s final numbers, last year's ratings climbed 13% to reach an average of 18.8 million viewers and a 4.0 rating in the demo. In 2022, the Oscars averaged 16.6 million total viewers and a 3.8 rating in the demo. Despite the rise in ratings, the numbers still fall short of the Oscars' glory days, with the telecast reaching 29.6 million viewers as recently as 2019. In addition to Nielsen's figures, Samba TV reports that this year's event on ABC reached 13.6 million U.S. households in the L+0 window, which is 2% higher than in 2023, with Boomers aged 65 through 74 overindexing by 18%. The ratings boost continues an ongoing trend in linear, with several awards shows, including the Grammy Awards and the Golden Globe Awards, growing in 2024. The Oscars peaked in the final half-hour (10 p.m. to 10:29 p.m. ET) with 21.9 million total viewers, and the ceremony was the No. 1 most-socialed program on Sunday, generating 28.5 million total social interactions and growing 4% from last year’s event. Following the broadcast, Abbott Elementary scored new series highs in total viewers (6.9 million) and the 18-through-49 demo (1.42 rating). Exclusive: How Jimmy Kimmel Pulled Off Surprise Tequila Shots at the Oscars Higher rates Partly helped by 2023's Oscars ratings climb, Disney Advertising sold out the show's ad inventory again this year, with a variety of partners spanning 17 categories. Pricing for this year's event was slightly up, reaching $1.7 million to $2.2 million for 30-second spots. In 2023, the company was seeking $1.6 million to $2.1 million for 30 seconds. "The Oscars stage and telecast continues to be the breakthrough moment for the most impactful brand marketers to bring their own creative storytelling to the cultural forefront through new innovation and never-before-seen activations," Rita Ferro, president of global advertising, Disney, previously said about the ad sales sellout. That quote rang true for the 2024 Oscars, with the telecast including the first in-show brand integration into one of host Jimmy Kimmel's bits. During the show, Diageo introduced its new Don Julio 1942 Tequila 50-milliliter bottle thanks to a toast from the host and his Jimmy Kimmel Live sidekick, Guillermo Rodriguez. Time will tell how the 2024 ratings affect next year's ad sales and where the brand integrations go from here. A win for linear Beyond the ratings, it was a big night overall for ABC and linear TV, as streamers struggled. Oppenheimer won big on the night for Universal, taking home the prize for Best Picture, and Netflix collected only one award. The show also had several highlights that had social media talking: John Cena walked across the stage naked to present the award for costume design, the show allowed past Best Actor and Actress winners to make speeches to this year's nominees and host Kimmel even called out Donald Trump for a social media post during the show. However, the moment of the night belonged to Ryan Gosling's performance of "I'm Just Ken," which also doubled as a tribute to Marilyn Monroe singing "Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend." Ken-joy it below: https://twitter.com/FilmUpdates/status/1767002046731792788