ABC's Oscar audience grows by 14%; biggest number in five years

Maybe it was the expanded best-picture category or, who knows, maybe it was that Neil Patrick Harris opening number. Whatever it was, Oscar ratings were up big time.

About 41.3 million people tuned in to ABC last night for the 82nd Academy Awards to see "The Hurt Locker" take best picture and best director and Jeff Bridges and Sandra Bullock walk away with the lead acting honors. That's an almost 14% jump from the 2009 awards, which were seen by 36.3 million, according to Nielsen. In the coveted category of adults ages 18 to 49, the Oscars averaged a 13.1 rating, an 8% gain over last year's show. Each rating point in that demographic represents 1.3 million viewers.

Sunday's telecast was the most-watched Oscars since the 2005 show, which saw Clint Eastwood's "Million Dollar Baby" take best picture. in five years. This is the second year in a row the audience for the Oscars has grown. Of course, the bar has been pretty low lately. The 2008 awards, which saw "No Country for Old Men" take the top prize, were the least-viewed on record with only 32 million people watching.

The Oscar ratings again highlight the strength of big event television. The audiences have been growing for award shows as of late, with the Golden Globes, Emmy Awards, Super Bowl and Grammy Awards all seeing their audiences get bigger.

ABC was certainly helped by its parent company, Walt Disney Co., resolving its fight with Cablevision Systems Corp. Disney had pulled the signal of WABC-TV New York from 3.1 million Cablevision homes in the nation's No. 1 television market. A tentative deal was reached between the two companies as the show began, and the signal was restored to those homes about 15 minutes into the Oscar telecast. Numbers in New York for the first half hour of the show's broadcast were down but rose throughout the night as word spread that WABC-TV was back on in Cablevision homes.

The painful Oscar pre-show on ABC, in which co-host Kathy Ireland, whose interview skills with stars was a disservice to Sports Illustrated swimsuit models everywhere, averaged 25.1 million viewers. Barbara Walters' final interview special lured 15 million viewers, a 30% gain over the 2009 special.

-- Joe Flint

Photo: Director and best picture winner Kathryn Bigelow does some two-fisted celebrating. Credit: Valerie Macon/ AFP Getty Images. 

Comments

[JewJourn]

Great blog post on the foreign film nomination:

http://www.jewishjournal.com/hollywoodjew/item/for_israelis_both_despair_and_delight_at_ajami_oscar_loss_20100308/

At the official Oscar party for the Israeli foreign film nominee “Ajami,” the tension between art and politics threatened to overwhelm the night. And rather than celebrate a win for the third consecutive Israeli film to be nominated for an Oscar, private sighs of relief followed the film’s loss to Argentina.

Mixed feelings about the already controversial film were intensified after “Ajami” co-director, Skandar Copti gave a polarizing interview to Israel’s Channel 2 TV hours before the Oscar telecast. In the interview, he denounced his ties to the State of Israel.

[Cheryl]

OMG, thank you for saying that about Kathy Ireland! She is fine until she opens her mouth. Please, please don't ever put her in a interviewing position like that again. I just muted the TV every time she came on!

[grammy]

Maybe it's me, but after the opening number, it went downhill. There were a few moments, ie Monique's acceptance, the gowns were gorgeous, but after 2 1/2 hours, I gave up and switched channels. The Academy Awards could do with a makeover-eliminate half the categories and shorten the program. Always leave your audience wanting more-it was tediious.

[tvhater]

that 14% are the unemployed at home with nothing to do and no where to go, don't get too exited.

[geekd]

It certainly help that many of the films nominated were films people had actually seen in large numbers.

[Chunkdog]

The best actor/actress fawning by their friends prior to the award was terrible. More of Hollywood patting itself on the back, plus the extra 10 minutes of an already too long show. Maybe the ratings are up because the general public is watching their money and going out to games, shows, restaurants, or even the movies (I know, box office is up, but ticket prices are way up, which accounts for that rise).

[Another Grammy]

I also think the show went downhill. The two hosts were not funny. Both Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin were stiff & wooden and obviously reading the script (which wasn't well done, either.) I turned off the TV and picked up a book just as the opening "humor" was finished. The book was a far better choice.

[Eds]

the 14 percent may be many people like me who kept watching hoping that AVATAR would get many major awards, but it never happened, instead we saw the plethora of hurt locker oscars, and 'affirmative action oscars'

[Robert K Walcott]

With no disrespect to Kathryn, she should give to Barbra, then Barbra should give it back. Then, it will be hers.

[willie m]

i too agree that the best actor/actress intro is weak and not necessary..the hosts steve martin and alec baldwin were not that funny...no spontineity...perhaps newer fresher faces shud be considered...the kathy ireland interviews were poor and virtually no info was learned...i am a huge movie fan and i stayed up to watch the end...although 3 1/2 hours is way too long....must be under 3hours...

[Maria Ashot]

People feeling slightly (just slightly) more optimistic than a year ago, and more likely to watch a lavish display of how the privileged elite celebrates achievement. Seriously, in 2009, many of us were too upset to watch. Also, two pictures that had generated huge interest were vying for the top prize; not to mention that all kinds of really "reg'lar folks" follow the careers of Jeff Bridges & Sandra Bullock. Their fan base cared, just as the LOTR fan base cared each time the Jackson masterpiece was in the running. Memo to the Academy: Hugh Jackman was waaaaay better than Martin & Baldwin: they are nice enough, but their timing is lousy and a lot of the "zingers" needed a lot more Viagra than was on offer. Their delivery really seemed to be aimed at the hearing impaired, or the English-language-learning community. No, no one has topped Billy Crystal yet, but this delightfully doddering duo needs to retire nonetheless. Surely they have enough income: find someone more deserving. The fact that Jackman is gorgeous to look at didn't hurt. And how about an Asian or a Latino for a change? I think George Lopez could pull it off with flair. Otherwise: good show except for the glaring omissions in the In Memoriam montage.

[Jack Henry]

ALL the awards shows were up this year. More people are home, TV is cheap and the media landscape is beginning to stabilize after economic and social media tumult.

[Seagull]

Everything was going fine, till that Gorilla Mo'Nique got on stage.