“Long live independent film.” That declaration, made by now four-time Oscar winner Sean Baker during his Best Picture acceptance speech for “Anora,” capped off the 97th Academy Awards on a hopeful note for the small but scrappy corners of the film business.
The television world may be feeling less hopeful following the Oscars, though. This past weekend’s ceremony saw audience growth stall after three years of ratings boosts, preventing the (usually) most watched non-sports broadcast from reaching pre-pandemic levels. Solid ratings gains among younger age groups, however, should give the Academy some hope for the future — even if said future isn’t on TV.
After hitting a four-year high of 19.5 million total viewers in 2024, Sunday’s telecast drew around 19.7 million viewers across its broadcast on ABC and livestream on Hulu, according to Nielsen. While that is a 1% increase and another post-pandemic high, it’s also a discouraging flatline in a year that seemed poised to hit bigger heights.
The tallies also dashed hopes that the Academy Awards ceremony could reach pre-pandemic viewership, which had seemed possible after several years of gains. The total audience decline this year now puts the Oscars 17% behind its 2020 viewership (23.6 million) and 43% below its 2016 draw (34.4 million).
Three awards shows into this 2025 season, and two concerning trends are playing out: The proceedings are some of the best we’ve seen in years, yet ratings are plateauing or sliding backward.
The Golden Globes were first up in January and featured a solid hosting job by first-timer Nikki Glaser, surprising wins in several categories and the fast-loose-slightly-tipsy vibes that make Hollywood’s Party of the Year (trademarked) a fun watch.
But the Globes’ third broadcast since returning to the air (and the first produced by Dick Clark Productions, which is owned by Variety parent company PMC) hit the brakes after a 50% audience increase in 2024, dipping 2% to 9.3 million viewers (down 50% vs. 2016) and breaking even within the 18-49 demo at 1.8.
The Grammy Awards aired in February, which featured several stellar performances and crowd-pleasing wins but nonetheless drew only 15.4 million viewers, down 9% from 2024 and 38% from 2016. Similar to the Globes, however, music’s biggest night held mostly steady among 18-49 viewers, falling just a decimal point to a 3.9 rating.
Finally, the Oscars kicked off March, with an always entertaining Conan O’Brien as host and huge wins for indie film in general but especially Letterboxd darlings “Anora” and “The Brutalist.” Total audience still dipped, as previously noted, but in a surprising bucking of trends, the 18-49 rating increased 19%, from 3.92 in 2024 to 4.54 — the highest total the Oscars have had for that key demo since 2020.
What’s even more promising news is the Oscars saw a six-year ratings high of 3.92 among adults 18-34. These jumps in younger audiences were likely fueled by the ceremony streaming online for the first time (major glitches notwithstanding) via Hulu, but the split between TV and streaming viewership wasn’t reported by Nielsen.
So on one hand, awards shows might have found their limits for audience growth within a TV landscape that continues to shrink every passing year. On the other, the Oscars’ relatively strong viewership with the younger demos shows those who don’t regularly watch TV may still watch awards shows — if they’re officially available through sources other than linear TV.
Granted, the Golden Globes and Grammys have been available to watch live online for some time now, though they didn’t see much growth. Maybe the Oscars drew more Gen Z and Millennials who wanted to see Conan back on TV, root for Timothée Chalamet or see if “Emilia Pérez” would actually win anything post online drama.
Regardless of the reasons, the ratings may give the Academy even more incentive to move the show from its longtime home on ABC for greener, online-only pastures.
