Disney-owned ABC Television is celebrating a big win as the network saw its highest viewership of the Academy Awards in four years.
The 96th Academy Awards
On Sunday evening, most of Hollywood turned out for the 96th Academy Awards, an annual ceremony that honors excellence in cinematic achievements across some of last year’s most popular films.
Late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel was on stage serving as host of the event, which was held at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles. It was the fourth time in his career to host the star-studded gala.
The presenters for the evening included Mahershala Ali, Emily Blunt, Bad Bunny, Nicolas Cage, Jamie Lee Curtis, Cynthia Erivo, America Ferrera, Sally Field, Brendan Fraser, Ryan Gosling, Ariana Grande, Chris Hemsworth, Dwayne Johnson, Michael Keaton, Regina King, Ben Kingsley, Jessica Lange, Jennifer Lawrence, Melissa McCarthy, Matthew McConaughey, Kate McKinnon, Rita Moreno, John Mulaney, Lupita Nyong’o, Catherine O’Hara, Al Pacino, Michelle Pfeiffer, Ke Huy Quan, Issa Rae, Tim Robbins, Sam Rockwell, Octavia Spencer, Steven Spielberg, Mary Steenburgen, Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlize Theron, Christoph Waltz, Forest Whitaker, Michelle Yeoh, Ramy Youssef, and Zendaya.
It was a magical evening of Hollywood’s elite with performances by singers and actors alike. But the event was largely focused on the big winner of the night–Universal Pictures Oppenheimer, the 2023 blockbuster that follows the story of physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, who worked on the top-secret Manhattan Project during World War II after being appointed by Lt. Gen. Leslie Groves, Jr.
The film tells the story of Oppenheimer, played by actor Cillian Murphy, as he and his team of scientists spend years on the development and design of the atomic bomb.
Oppenheimer was, hands-down, the clear champion of the evening. Of the 13 total nominations the film earned, it won seven awards–the coveted Best Picture Award, as well as Best Director, Best Actor in a Leading Role, Best Supporting Actor, Best Original Score, Best Cinematography, and Best Film Editing.
Disney-Owned ABC Wins Big
It was a night of big wins for ABC Television as well, as the network saw the highest viewership its seen for the Oscars event in four years.
The average audience for the evening’s event was approximately 19.5 million on ABC. The average represents a 4% growth in audience size over the viewership for the 2023 event when 18.8 million people tuned in for the awards show.
The Oscars ranked as the #1 program on Sunday evening on social media, garnering nearly 29 million interactions, which is also an increase of approximately 4% over last year. The #Oscars hashtag trended highest throughout the televised event, and it was the most-used hashtag on X, formerly Twitter, on Sunday.
In recent years, the viewership of several awards shows has dropped as many former viewers opt now to watch the event via streaming services and social media networks.
