TV Ratings: Oscars Fall to 17.9 Million Viewers, Lowest Since 2022
ABC and Hulu’s telecast was off by about 9 percent from the 2025 awards.
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Share on Facebook Share on X Google Preferred Share to Flipboard Show additional share options Share on LinkedIn Share on Pinterest Share on Reddit Share on Tumblr Share on Whats App Send an Email Print the Article Post a Comment Logo text The TV audience for the 2026 Oscars declined some, in keeping with a pattern of other recent awards shows. Sunday’s 98th Academy Awards drew 17.86 million viewers on ABC and Hulu, based on Nielsen’s big data plus panel ratings. That’s down about 9 percent from last year’s Oscars , which drew 19.69 million viewers for a post-pandemic high, and the smallest audience for the awards since 2022, when 16.68 million people watched. One Battle After Another and Sinners ruled the night, with the former winning six Oscars (including best picture and best director for Paul Thomas Anderson) and Sinners taking home four awards (including a best actor win for Michael B. Jordan and best original screenplay for Ryan Coogler). Conan O’Brien took his second turn as host of the awards. Related Stories Lifestyle The Style Winners and Sinners of the Oscars Movies Norway's Oscar Victory Was Decades in the Making The Oscars followed the trend of the season’s other two big awards telecasts, albeit with a slightly steeper drop. Both the Golden Globes in January and the Grammy Awards in February fell by about 6 percent vs. their 2025 editions. The telecast was marred by audio glitches and other technical issues — though not the streaming problems that plagued last year’s ceremony, the first to live stream on Hulu — and cut off a couple of winners while letting some scripted bits go on too long. The show also, however, featured heartfelt speeches by Jordan and best actress winner Jessie Buckley, well-received musical performances of nominated songs from Sinners and KPop Demon Hunters (the latter’s “Golden” took home the award) and funny opening and closing filmed pieces featuring O’Brien riffing on the nominated films. More to come. THR Newsletters Sign up ...
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