LOS ANGELES -U.S. television ratings for Sunday’s reinvented Oscars ceremony plummeted to a new low, according to preliminary Nielsen data for a show that USA Today …
LOS ANGELES -U.S. television ratings for Sunday’s reinvented Oscars ceremony plummeted to a new low, according to preliminary Nielsen data for a show that USA Today called “a train wreck” and the New York Times described as “a dead room.” The audience on Walt Disney Co’s ABC broadcast network averaged 9.85 million,58% below last year’s final tally of 23.6 million viewers for the film industry’s highest honors. Final numbers that include people who watched at bars and restaurants are expected to be released on Tuesday. The slide reflects a trend among live awards shows during the coronavirus pandemic. TV audiences for September’s Emmys and the Grammy Awards in March also drew their lowest audiences ever. Ratings for the Golden Globes in February fell 60% from a year earlier. Hoping to draw viewers while adhering to pandemic safety measures, this year’s producers tried a few new things.
