Starting the Oscars earlier seemed like the right move for ABC! Just look at the ratings.
The 2024 Oscars began shortly after 7/6c, and the three-and-a-half-hour show (it ended on time!) reached a four-year high (since the 2020 broadcast) in viewers, with 19.5 million tuning in. The awards show also received a 3.81 rating among Adults 18-49, based on Fast National Live+Same Day program data. Plus, Abbott Elementary, airing a special episode after the Oscars at 10:30/9:30c—which featured a guest spot from Bradley Cooper, nominated for his performance in Maestro—delivered the highest-rated sitcom telecast in nearly four years.
The Oscars grew for the third straight year in total viewers, with nearly 1 million more people tuning in than last year (18.8 million). The broadcast peaked in the final half-hour, from 10/9c to 10:29/9:29c, with 21.9 million viewers. That shouldn’t be a surprise, since the biggest awards of the night are given out in that time.
The 2024 Oscars also stand as the strongest awards show telecast on any network in four years in total viewers, since ABC’s broadcast of the 2020 Oscars on February 9, 2020. It also ranks as the top entertainment special in primetime on any network in four years in total viewers since the aforementioned 2020 Oscars.
Abbott Elementary aired from 10:30/9:30c to 11:02/10:02c. The special episode scored new series highs in both total viewers (6.9 million) and among adults 18-49 (1.42 rating). Not counting repeats, it was the highest-rated telecast for any sitcom on any network in nearly four years among adults 18-49, since ABC aired the series finale of Modern Family on April 8, 2020.
ABC notes that with the 19.5 million that tuned in, the Oscars outdrew this year’s Grammys by 14 percent (17.1 million), Golden Globes by 105 percent (9.5 million), and Emmys by 333 percent (4.5 million).
The Oscars ranked as the No. 1 most social program on Sunday, generating 28.5 million total social interactions and growing four percent from the 2023 ceremony (27.4 million).
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