Team Green Book accepts Best Picture | Ed Herrera/ABC
Update: The preliminary ratings report was not misleading: the 2019 Academy Awards ceremony outdrew the 2018 installment.
Citing fast official data, ABC says the broadcast averaged a 7.7 adults 18-49 rating and 29.6 million in overall viewership. Last year’s show drew a 6.8 in the demo and 26.5 million in overall viewership.
ABC adds that this year’s Oscars was TV’s most-watched non-sports broadcast since the 2017 Academy Awards. It was the top non-sports adults 18-49 broadcast since the post-Super Bowl edition of “This Is Us” in February 2018.
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While it may not have won back all of last year’s lost ground, the 2019 Academy Awards ceremony does appear to have posted a year-over-year ratings gain.
According to metered market data posted by Programming Insider, Sunday’s show averaged a 20.1 overnight household rating. Last year’s show drew an 18.8 overnight household rating, en route to posting a record low 26.5 million viewer sum.
The 2017 iteration drew a 22.4 household rating in the overnights and a final viewership figure of 32.9 million.
Again airing on ABC, the 2019 Oscars ceremony did not have a host. It did, however, feature three legitimately high-profile films in the Best Picture race: “Black Panther,” “A Star Is Born,” and “Bohemian Rhapsody” (“Green Book” ended up taking home that coveted prize).