Free Republic

A paltry 15.4 million viewers tuned into Sunday night’s debacle of an Oscar telecast, the second-worst in the history of a telecast that just a few years ago was attracting 30 to 40 million viewers without breaking a sweat. For context, back in 2017, when the Oscars earned 33 million viewers and 9.1 million demo viewers in the 18-49 age group, people were freaking out over the plunge in public interest. Well, last night, the number was less than half that 33 million… That’s how bad things are. The left-wing Hollywood Reporter uses the word “rebound” in its ratings headline....

It was a historic 92nd Academy Awards with a first Best Picture recipient not in the English language in Parasite adding an element of surprise to a largely predictable winners list. There was something historic in the ratings for the 2020 Oscars too — an historic low. Last year, the Academy Awards bet on no traditional host, kicked off the night with an energetic performance by Queen and Adam Lambert, employed “not hosts” with Saturday Night Live pedigree (Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph) to do an opening monologue, kept the show’s length under 3.5 hours and created a musical...

When the Academy Of Motion Picture Arts And Sciences decided to end the relentless parade of host-related Oscars drama by simply doing the show without one, there were concerns as to whether or not the choice would negatively impact the ratings. As it turns out, the absence of a central person to spout toothless jokes and bother the audience actually might have played a part in this year’s ratings boost. The 91st Annual Academy Awards garnered a 7.7 rating in adults 18-49 and 29.6 million viewers this past Sunday. To compare: Last year’s show only saw a 6.8 rating and...

In case you missed the Oscars last night, host Jimmy Kimmel predictably lectured the country about politics, harped on leftism, went after Fox News and repeatedly made terribly unfunny jokes about Vice President Mike Pence and President Donald Trump. “We don’t make films like ‘Call Me By Your Name’ for money. We make them to upset Mike Pence," Kimmel said.Ahead of the big show Sunday night, Kimmel made it known he would engage in activism from the stage but according to the numbers, it didn't pay off. From TheWrap:  Jimmy Kimmel’s return as Oscars host received an 18.9 rating in Nielsen’s overnight...