One of the major highlights at the 89th Academy Awards was the time when Warren Beatty announced the wrong winner for the Best Picture Award. However, it had no impact on the ratings of Hollywood’s biggest night. Oscar ratings continue to drop and it was 4% down in viewership.
According to Forbes, the rating of Sunday’s Oscars broadcast was watched by an average of 32.9 million viewers. It went down about 4% compared from last year wherein it boasted 34.2 million viewers. It also garnered a 9.1 rating among adults 18-49 age bracket. For the first time, the show was hosted by Jimmy Kimmel.
LA Times reported that this is the third consecutive year that the Oscars rating dropped. At the same time, its smallest viewers rating since 2008. There have been reasons for such decrease in numbers.
Billie Gold, the Vice President and Director of Programming Research at the Amplifi US, shared that “The dip in ratings can possibly be attributed to its very late running time, the box-office receipts for most of its little-seen but highly acclaimed movies, and the fact that some might have thought it would be another politically laden awards show, which turned some people off in recent months.”
What happened at the end part of the show was truly unexpected. The viewers and audience were all stunned when they found out that Best Picture award was mistakenly given to the wrong winner. It is not certain if the incident hurt the Oscars. Gold shared that he did not see any long term damage to how the show appeals to the audience.
“It reflects the power of live TV and true social moments that people love to remember and be part of,” said Gold. He also pointed out that we are in a society that wants to capture unexpected moments and be part of it. What happened last night was really memorable and those who did not see it somehow felt bad they missed it.
Meanwhile, Jobs & Hire shared Oscars winner Emma Stone’s inspiring journey to success.
Watch the video below:
