US TV audience for Oscars jumps, hostless show earns praise

Feb 27, 2019 06:00 am

The first hostless Academy Awards broadcast in 30 years attracted a 12 per cent bigger US television audience to Walt Disney's ABC than last year's record-low viewership, the network said on Monday.

Sunday night's live telecast drew an average audience of 29.6 million viewers, according to Nielsen data released by ABC. Last year, the Oscars show averaged 26.5 million viewers, a record low and down from 32.9 million in 2017.

This year's ratings jump was a victory for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the show's producers, who were under pressure to expand the audience as overall TV viewership is on the decline.

The ceremony opened with a performance by rock band Queen, featuring American Idol star Adam Lambert as lead vocalist. The show ran 40 minutes shorter than last year's programme and eschewed its typical opening monologue for short celebrity cameos.

Many TV critics praised the broadcast, saying the lack of a host made the show move quickly and forced the producers to think creatively about how to entertain viewers. - REUTERS