The 93rd Academy Award scored the lowest ratings in Oscars history. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Oscars had to adapt to a very different format than what audiences were used to. The eligibility window from the nominated window was extended an extra two months till the end of February 2021. The Oscars telecast was different in many ways from past shows, from the primary broadcast location being Union Station instead of the Dolby Theater and even moving around the order of the awards, presenting Best Actress and Best Actor after Best Picture.

The award show generated many highlights as Chloe Zhao became the first woman of color to win the Best Director Oscar and only the second woman to ever win the award. Yet the ceremony ended on an unexpected turn when Anthony Hopkins won Best Actor for The Father over the projected winner, the late Chadwick Boseman in Ma Rainey's Black Bottom. The broadcast generated attention online, but that didn't translate to viewership numbers.

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According to Deadline, this year's Academy Awards earned 9.85 million viewers, which is the lowest rating for an Oscar telecast in the awards shows history. This is the first time that the Academy Awards broadcast has dipped below 10 million. The show was a sharp 58% drop from last year's Academy Award ceremony, which at 23.64 million was the previous lowest-rated Oscar broadcast.

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A number of factors could have contributed to the massive decrease in viewership. The Academy Awards are traditionally held in late February or early March, so many viewers might have assumed the ceremony was already held. Despite many of the Academy Award-nominated films being available on streaming services like Amazon (Sound of Metal), Netflix (Mank, The Trial of the Chicago 7), Hulu (Nomadland, Another Round), Disney+ (Soul, Onward), HBO Max (Judas and the Black Messiah) and Apple TV (Wolfwalkers) for people to enjoy, that did not translate to immediate interest from viewers. Before the ceremony, it was reported that many filmgoers were unfamiliar with the nominated movies.

With such low ratings, the question now turns to how this will impact next year's Oscars. The 94th Academy Awards will return to its normal broadcast time frame on February 27, 2022. The mixed reaction to this year's awards show means the producers may return to a more traditional format with musical numbers, montages, and even a host. While it is still far too early to guess any of the nominated films, there is a chance films by big-name talent like Lin Manuel Miranda's In The Heights or Steven Spielberg's West Side Story will be able to draw audiences back to the show.

Next: Oscars 2021: Biggest Snubs & Surprises

Source: Deadline