Oscars telecast draws 19.5 million viewers, up 4% from last year

A lively Oscars ceremony boosted by two genuine blockbuster best picture nominees in 'Oppenheimer' and 'Barbie' helped boost the ABC telecast to largest audience since 2020. The 96th Academy Awards ceremony Sunday at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood was watched on ABC by an average audience of 19.5 million viewers, a 4% increase over 2023, according to Nielsen data. Last year's telecast drew an audience of 18.7 million on average.

Pacific apparently didn't hurt. The program finished at around 10:30 p.m. for viewers on the East Coast, who in past years had to hang on until midnight to see the best picture award presentation. The start of the telecast was delayed for five minutes due to pro-Palestinian protesters who blocked traffic and forced some of the attendees to exit their black cars and head to the theater on foot. The program had two buzzworthy moments.

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