Update 2: Updated Nielsen data reveals that Sunday’s 87th Annual Academy Awards broadcast drew a 10.8 adults 18-49 rating with 36.6 million viewers between 8:30 and 11:48PM ET (the show actually ran through 12:12AM ET, but Nielsen’s data is evidently aligned with the show’s last commercial break).
The adults 18-49 rating is the lowest since the 2008 show drew a 10.7. The audience total is the weakest since the 2009 ceremony drew the same 36.6 million viewers.
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Update: Per the very preliminary, non-time-adjusted fast national ratings, the 87th Annual Academy Awards drew a 10.3 rating during the 8:30-11PM ET primetime portion. The 2014 broadcast drew a considerably stronger 12.1 rating within that window.
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Final data will not be available until late Monday afternoon, but preliminary numbers suggest a year-over-year decline for the Academy Awards.
Sunday’s 87th Annual Academy Awards broadcast drew a 24.6 overnight household rating. Dominant compared to everything else that aired Sunday, the number nonetheless trails the 27.9 drawn by the 2014 Oscars ceremony.
Whether the adults 18-49 and total viewership marks endured similar declines remains to be seen.
ABC led into its Oscars broadcast with a 90-minute red carpet special. That averaged a 12.7 rating. Last year’s drew a 13.8.