Oscars 2023 sees 12% spike in audience, but still third lowest in viewership history

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The Academy Awards, which was live telecasted last Sunday, has seen an estimated 18.7 million US television viewers, according to a report by Reuters which was quoting data released by broadcaster ABC and audience measurement company Nielsen.

It was reported that audiences rose 12%, up from last year which saw 16.7 million people tuning in. That said, the Oscars this year still ranks as the third lowest on record for the ceremony which is unsurprising considering that the viewership of many award ceremonies have seen drops in their viewership over the years as audiences favor social media and streaming over traditional TV.

The highest rated Academy Awards telecast reportedly took place 25 years ago when 57 million people tuned in to see Titanic sweep the honors.

Don't miss: Disney ad inventory sold out for the Oscars 2023

According to Reuters, the Oscars this weekend were the subject of 27.4 million interactions on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. It also ranked as the number one trending topic on Twitter worldwide throughout the broadcast.

MARKETING-INTERACTIVE has reached out to ABC for more information.

This year, viewers did not get the drama of last year's show which saw Will Smith slapping Chris Rock after the latter made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith, his wife. However, it was rife with Asian representation with Asians dominating the awards. One of the most notable wins was for the 2022 American absurdist comedy-drama film, Everything Everywhere All at Once.

The film saw seven wins at the Oscars including that of best film and best director. Malaysian-born Michelle Yeoh also swept up the Best Actress award, the first Asian to win in the category. Her win sent waves through social media with many congratulating the star and commending her on paving the way for Asians on such a global stage.

Aside from Everything Everywhere All At Once, the Oscars also saw two historic Academy Awards being given to Naatu Naatu, a Telugu film, for best original song and The Elephant Whisperers, a Tamil documentary on Netflix which won best short documentary, a first for an Indian production.

The news comes shortly after Disney Advertising announced that it had reportedly sold all its inventory for the Oscars which were televised on ABC this weekend with prices slightly lower than it was in 2022.

According to several media outlets such as Deadline and Yahoo Entertainment, it was reported that the company charged between US$1.6 million and US$2.1 million for 30 seconds of airtime, and that it sold out of ad inventory from a significantly vast range of brands and advertisers from 15 categories. These included the likes of Hulu, alt Disney Motion Pictures, Universal, Sony, Warner Bros., Amazon, Snapchat and Paramount+ in addition to others. Some of the lead advertisers though included brands such as Pfizer, Rolex and Verizon, according to media reports.

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