If you missed Brad Pitt’s jab at the Senate impeachment trial or Joaquin Phoenix’s anti-milk missive Sunday at the Oscars, you weren’t alone.
The 92nd Academy Awards on ABC registered the lowest ratings in the show’s history, drawing 23.6 million viewers for a 5.3 rating in the 18-49 demographic, according to initial Nielsen figures.
That television share was worse the previous lowest-rated Oscars, the 2018 ceremony, which drew 26.5 million viewers and a 6.8 rating, and represented a 20% decrease in total viewers from the 2019 show, according to AdWeek.
The drop-off was attributed by industry analysts to everything from the timing—the ceremony was held a week after the Super Bowl and two weeks earlier than the previous year—to the lack of blockbuster nominees.
The annual awards show had suffered a four-year decline in viewership until 2019, when the ratings ticked back up in a year that featured no official host. The 2020 show was also hostless.
I have nothing against the most famous people in the world using their privileged, global platform to tell the world what they believe. I even agree with most of it. I just tried to warn them that when they lecture everyday, hard working people, it has the opposite effect. Peace.
— Ricky Gervais (@rickygervais) February 10, 2020
This year’s ceremony also featured the first Best Picture win for a non-English-language film, the South Korean dark comedy thriller “Parasite.”
Before the show, comedian Ricky Gervais, a five-time host of the Golden Globes, warned celebrities on Twitter about making political speeches, which failed to deter Mr. Pitt and Mr. Phoenix.
“They told me I only have 45 seconds up here, which is 45 seconds more than the Senate gave John Bolton,” cracked Mr. Pitt after his win for Best Supporting Actor in “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.”
Mr. Phoenix, who won the Best Actor award for “Joker,” gave a rambling acceptance speech in support of veganism that included a blast at cow insemination.
The 5.3 demo rating for the Oscars fell below the 5.4 rating for the Grammy Awards two weeks ago on CBS.
SEE ALSO: Brad Pitt invokes John Bolton, impeachment in Oscar speech
The 2020 ceremony is now the lowest-rated #Oscars ever, eclipsing 2018’s telecast. https://t.co/eVz8DLYRYU
— Adweek (@Adweek) February 11, 2020
• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.
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