RATINGS DIVE

2020 Oscars Pull In Record-Low 23.6 Million Viewers

The viewership numbers dropped 20 percent compared to the 2019 Oscars’ audience.

The 2020 Oscars broadcast on Sunday night was watched by 23.6 million viewers, the smallest audience in the award show’s history. According to Variety, the number of viewers dipped 20 percent from last year’s Academy Awards. In national ratings, this year’s telecast only received a 5.3 rating among adults between the ages of 18-49—a drop from the 2019 Oscars’ 7.7 rating. Last year’s ceremony represented a 12 percent increase from 2018’s audience of 26.5 million viewers, a historic low at the time. South Korean film Parasite won Best Picture and three other awards, making it the first foreign film to win the top honor.