The 97th Academy Awards ceremony, hosted by first-timer Conan O'Brien, attracted 18.07 million viewers across ABC and streaming partner Hulu, marking a 7% decline from last year's 19.5 million viewers. This represents the first viewership drop for the ceremony in four years.
Despite the decrease, the 2025 Oscars remained the most-watched primetime entertainment telecast of the 2024-25 TV season, outperforming other major awards shows including the Grammys (15.4 million), Golden Globes (9.3 million), and Emmys (6.9 million).
The nearly four-hour broadcast showed some demographic bright spots, scoring a 3.92 rating among adults 18-49, up 3% from the previous year. The show also achieved its highest rating in five years among adults 18-34, with a 3.17 rating.
Technical difficulties plagued the Hulu livestream throughout the evening, with over 34,000 users reporting access problems. Some viewers lost connection just before the best picture announcement when the ceremony ran longer than scheduled, likely impacting overall viewership numbers.
The ceremony's current viewership stands in stark contrast to its peak in 1998, when 57.25 million viewers tuned in to watch "Titanic" win Best Picture. The show's audience has steadily declined since the early 2000s when it regularly drew around 40 million viewers.
"Anora" dominated the evening's awards, collecting honors for Best Picture, Best Actress (Mikey Madison), Best Director (Sean Baker), Best Editing, and Best Original Screenplay.
The Academy Awards' declining viewership comes as the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences reportedly considers shopping the event to other networks and platforms, with ABC's current contract set to expire in 2028.