Are the Oscars Dead? Early Ratings Numbers Indicate Possible All-Time Low

Nick Kangadis | March 5, 2018
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Did you watch the Oscars last night? Don't worry. You're not alone. 

If you missed it, the 90th annual Academy Awards took place Sunday night, and the academy could receive some sobering news.

Host Jimmy Kimmel's second attempt at not sucking on the main stage may likely be met with record low ratings. (After all, Kimmel just doesn't equal ratings.)

According to Deadline Hollywood, early ratings estimates for the Oscars could come in at an all-time low:

The good news did not carry over to ratings for the 90th Academy Awards, which (correctly) crowned The Shape of Water as Best Picture. Last night’s ceremony, which aired live from 8 PM – 11:54 PM EST, drew a 18.9 Live+Same Day rating in the metered market households. That was off 16% from last year’s 22.4 rating, which was a nine-year low. The 18.9 appears to be an all-time low for the Oscars, well below the previous low ratings point, logged with the 2008 telecast (21.9), hosted by Jon Stewart, when No Country For Old Men won Best Picture.

Kimmel calling on presenters and award winners to push their chosen activism on stage at the very beginning of the show probably didn't help matters much in terms of ratings. The fact that Kimmel didn't cry during his social justice monologue was the surprise of the night.

Here's Kimmel's Oscars monologue:

 

Listen, I understand that these Hollywood hypocrites are going to spew their social justice bile all over everyone quicker than Linda Blair in "The Exorcist." But, when your activism takes precedence over the reason you're actually at an event, it might be time to take a night off.

These people are there to accept awards in a fashion that makes it seem like they're curing cancer. They're just movies. Entertain us. That's all we're saying. Believe what you want, but in your movies - dance, clowns!

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