Oscars 2025 Telecast Sees Surge in Viewership

The 97th Academy Awards attracted approximately 19.7 million viewers, achieving a five-year record high in total attendance and ratings among adults aged 18 to 49, as reported by Disney.

Initially, Nielsen, a company that measures television ratings, indicated that around 18.1 million people watched the ABC telecast this year. This figure suggested a 7% decrease compared to the 19.5 million viewers from the previous year.

Nonetheless, on Tuesday, the numbers were adjusted to reflect a significant increase in younger viewers who tuned in via mobile and computer devices. According to Disney, approximately 1.65 million viewers watched the ceremony on digital platforms.

This year's ceremony, hosted by former late-night host Conan O'Brien, featured a star-studded lineup, including a performance from Oscar nominees Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo for the film "Wicked," as well as a musical tribute to the late Quincy Jones by Queen Latifah.

To enhance viewership, the film academy scheduled an earlier start time of 7 p.m. ET, aiming for the show to conclude by 10:30 p.m. ET. Following his opening monologue, O'Brien humorously remarked about the Oscars' tendency to run late, singing, “I won’t waste time.”

However, the show ultimately extended to nearly four hours, wrapping up closer to 11 p.m. ET.

This marked the first time the ceremony was made available for simultaneous streaming while being broadcast live. Some viewers, however, encountered technical problems while streaming. Just before the final awards were announced, several online users shared images of their screens displaying a message that read, “This live event has now ended.”

Earlier in the evening, others reported difficulties logging into the Hulu app. A representative from Disney addressed the initial technical problems by apologizing for the inconvenience, stating that they identified the issue and that affected users would soon be able to log back in.

viewership, awards, streaming, host