TV Ratings: Oscars Viewership Soars Almost 60% vs. 2021

The 2022 Academy Awards have been in the headlines for all the wrong reasons, thanks to a dust-up between Will Smith and Chris Rock.

Now, ABC is touting the ratings growth of this year's telecast.

According to the network, the 2022 Oscars managed 15.4 million viewers and a 2.9 rating in the demo.

Among total viewers, the telecast surged 56% vs. 2021.

In the demo, the show was up 68%.

While these numbers are a marked improvement, they still represent the second-lowest numbers in history.

Up is up, especially in today's TV climate, and these numbers are encouraging that fortunes could be returning for awards shows after years of declines.

The numbers are very good, well ahead of anything else on the broadcast networks (sans sports.)

Unlike awards shows of the past, the broadcast networks proceeded with a relatively typical night of programming.

A double pump of NCIS: Los Angeles had 5.4 million viewers and a 0.6 rating for the first hour, and 4.9 million viewers and a 0.5 rating for the second.

S.W.A.T. closed out the night for CBS at 3.8 million viewers and a 0.4 rating.

The Weakest Link (1.3 million/0.2 rating) and Transplant (0.9 million/0.1 rating) were both down for NBC in total viewers, but steady in the demo.

The CW's Riverdale (253,000/0.1 rating) and March (99,000/0.0) were steady.

The Simpsons (1 million/0.3 rating), The Great North (0.8 million/0.3 rating), Bob's Burgers (1 million/0.3 rating), and Family Guy (1.1 million/0.3 rating) were all on par with their recent results.