Ratings: 2023 OSCARs Draw the Highest Viewership of Any Awards Show Since 2020

From stunning categorical upsets to moving musical performances from the likes of Rihanna, Lady Gaga, and others, the OSCARs aired Sunday night (March 12) and delivered just what the doctor ordered to raise the ailing awards show out of its multi-year ratings slump.

Details inside.

Viewership: 18.7 Million

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQcQrFkBSuQ

Easily one of the ceremony’s most memorable yet, updated Nielsen data reveals the Jimmy Kimmel-hosted showing reeled in some seriously winning numbers.

Just 12 months after boasting its first increase in viewership in years (as we reported here), the 95th Academy Awards drew an average audience of 18.7 million viewers – a figure that represents its best since the pre-pandemic 2020 awards (which clocked approximately 23 million viewers).

Uniquely, the 2023 OSCARs were also the most-watched awards show on any network in three years – besting the likes of other popular annual industry events like GRAMMYs, MTV VMAs, BET Awards, and Billboard Music Awards, which have all reported ratings lows year-over-year.

Industry analysts believe the uptick in OSCAR viewership is mainly a testament to the star power of its musical performers and nominees as well as likely curiosity of how last year’s infamous slap would be addressed.

Another noteworthy win of this year’s Academy Awards was its social media interaction as the showing scored a whopping 27.4 million reactions across YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. This count doesn’t include the millions of related posts on Tik Tok, Reddit, and other popular outlets.

[main photo source: Getty Images]