The Academy Awards remain a cornerstone of Hollywood’s cultural calendar, celebrating cinematic excellence of the year. Historically, the Oscars have drawn massive audiences, reaching 55 million viewers in 1998. However, recent years have seen wild fluctuations, plummeting to 10.4 million in 2021 amid the pandemic before rebounding to 19.5 million in 2024. Continue scrolling to learn about the statistics of Oscars 2025.
Factors like host appeal, nominee buzz, and streaming integration have fueled this rollercoaster. The 97th Academy Awards drew 18.1 million viewers on ABC, marking a 7% decline from last year’s numbers. This year’s broadcast featured first-time host Conan O’Brien, a well-received performance lineup, and a slate of films that resonated with critics. However, these elements weren’t enough to sustain the Oscars’ post-pandemic viewership recovery.
Over the past four years, the Academy Awards have been on an upward trajectory following its record-low viewership in 2021. But the Oscars 2025 broadcast saw a shift, and not for the better.
Oscars 2025 Plummeted Compared To Last Year’s Ceremony
On March 2, 2025, the 97th Academy Awards aired on ABC, pulling in 18.1 million viewers across traditional broadcasts and Hulu livestreams, as per Variety. This figure reflects a 7% drop from 2024’s 19.5 million and a further decline from 2023’s 18.8 million, snapping a three-year streak of viewership gains. After a pandemic-era low of 10.4 million in 2021, the Oscars had been clawing back audiences, but this year’s numbers signal a reversal.
Despite the dip, the telecast topped the 2024-2025 season as the most-watched primetime entertainment event, boasting a 3.92 rating among adults 18-49, up 3% from last year, and a 3.17 rating for the 18-34 demographic, the highest in five years. Technical glitches on Hulu, however, likely shaved off potential viewers, muddying the final count. While ABC’s linear numbers held steady, this was Hulu’s first year simulcasting the event, and the glitches may have cost Disney a bump in total viewership.
Unlike past years, streaming numbers weren’t a factor in 2023 or 2024 totals, making this decline harder to parse. Still, the Oscars 2025 outpaced all non-sports, non-news broadcasts this season, and its lead-in lifted American Idol to a 5.9 million premiere.
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