Boosted by strong interest in summer 2023 theatrical blockbuster movies, ABC's “The 96th Academy Awards” telecast grew 4% to 19.5 million viewers, according to Nielsen, over last year.
The event also posted the strongest results in four years. Nielsen says the show earned a 3.81 rating among adult 18-49 viewers. …
Sunday's Oscars drew 19.5 million viewers and a 3.8 rating in the adults 18-49 demographic. The 2023 Oscars drew 18.8 million viewers and a 4.0 rating in preferred demo.
That would mean the 2024 Oscars rose just under 4% in total viewers from last year, but fell 5% in the key demo.
From a reseach standpoint, and these are surveys after all, not some sort of census, there was no change in the Oscar's average minute audience levels. it was basically the same both years---about 19 million viewers supposedly "watched" an average commercial minute. As for the "key" group---the 18-49s--- why do we keep harping on this minority segment? Why not tell us the median age of the supposed commercial audience?I'm not blaming you Wayne---just the way the stats are pump out and the over reliance on data that often isn't very illuminating. Here's an example. How did this year's Oscar's special compare to last year's in terms of holding power? What percentage of its household audience watched the entire show? How many tuned out during the show? etc. etc.
Part of the reason is that for the first time the Big Four award presentations were measured by Nielsen. Previously, awards given after 11pm were not rated nationally because it was all local commercials.