Unfortunately, even a performance of the KPop Demon Hunters song “Golden” couldn’t make Oscars ratings go up, up, up.
Today, according to Nielsen national live+same day big data plus panel program ratings, the 98th Oscars took a significant dip, dropping to 17.86 million viewers.
The show, which aired on ABC and streamed live on Hulu, was down around 2 million viewers from its 2025 numbers. For the 97th Oscars, Disney and Nielsen announced that viewership reached 19.69 million, a five-year high for the show.
Beyond the overall viewership, the 98th Oscars received a 3.92 rating among Adults 18-49. According to Disney, the show was the No. 1 primetime entertainment telecast of the 2025-2026 season. However, those numbers are also down from last year’s show, which reached a 4.54 rating and was driven by mobile and PC viewing by younger viewers.
In a bright spot, the 98th Oscars was the No. 1 most social program of the night, with social impressions increasing more than 42% vs. last year, totalling more than 184 million, according to Disney.
The viewership dip is somewhat surprising, considering last year’s Oscars received nearly 19.7 million viewers while also dealing with technical glitches in the program’s first year streaming on Hulu. Those glitches seemed to have been fixed this time around.
This year’s Oscars also brought back fan-favorite host Conan O’Brien, and popular films, including One Battle After Another and Sinners, were the big winners.
Regarding the show’s content, Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another took home six Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director. Meanwhile, Sinners, which led with a record 16 nominations, had four awards, with Michael B. Jordan winning in the Best Actor category. The movie also made history, with Autumn Durald Arkapaw becoming the first woman to win the award for achievement in cinematography.
Despite the dip, Disney achieved an Oscars ad sellout heading into the event, with pricing up double-digit percent-wise over last year.
For the 2025 Oscars, Disney brought in between $1.7 million and $2.3 million for a 30-second spot. In 2024, Disney was seeking between $1.7 million and $2.2 million.
Meanwhile, the company is already talking to advertisers about securing spots in the 2027 Oscars.
“As we lead into Q1 2027, there are brands looking to take big creative swings with us and find ways to be able to link across film, sport, and music,” John Campbell, svp, streaming, entertainment, and multicultural solutions at Disney, recently told ADWEEK.
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