Programming & Performance

Oscars Fall to Record Low Ratings Following Second Hostless Year

23.6 million watched; adults 18-49 demo rating falls below this year’s Grammys

the cast and crew of Parasite — The South Korean film Parasite became the first non-English language movie to win Best Picture. It received four Oscars in all during Sunday's ceremony. ABC

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Last year, the first hostless Academy Awards in three decades resulted in ratings that rose year-over-year for the first time since 2014. So ABC and the Academy elected to go without an emcee again this year—but instead of repeating 2019’s ratings growth, the 2020 telecast fell to the awards show’s lowest ratings ever.

The 92nd Oscars drew 23.6 million total viewers and a 5.3 rating in the adults 18-49 demo, according to Nielsen’s fast national ratings.

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