‘The Oscars®’ Hits Five-Year High Topping Last Year in Total Viewers and Key Adult Demographic, Ranking as No. 1 Primetime Telecast of the Season

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“The Oscars®” (7:00-10:50 p.m. EST)
“The Oscars” took place Sunday, March 2, at the Dolby® Theatre at Ovation Hollywood. The show aired live on ABC, streamed live on Hulu, and aired live in more than 200 territories worldwide.

• Featuring first-time host Conan O’Brien leading a spectacular telecast, the 97th Oscars grew its overall audience for the fourth consecutive year, delivering a five-year high in both Total Viewers (19.69 million) and Adults 18-49 (4.54 rating) – since 2/9/20.
• Versus the previous year, “The Oscars” increased in Total Viewers (+1% – 19.69 million vs. 19.49 million) and in Adults 18-49 (+19% – 4.54 rating vs. 3.82 rating).
• In addition, driven by younger viewing, the show improved in Adults 18-34 (+ 28% – 3.92 rating vs. 3.05 rating), delivering the highest rating among the young Adult demo in six years – since 2/24/19.
• “The Oscars” stands as the 1 primetime entertainment telecast in both Total Viewers (19.69 million) and Adults 18-49 (4.54 rating) for the 2024-2025 season.
• The 97th Oscars earned 104.2 million total social interactions, ranking as the No. 1 most social TV program season to date, outperforming both “The Grammy® Awards” (102.2 million interactions) and “The Super Bowl” (62.4 million) this season for the first time on record.
• “The Oscars” trended globally and was the No. 1 trending topic in the U.S. on X throughout the telecast.
• The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences saw an increase of +82% year over year in social engagement across all platforms, reaching over 64 million likes, comments and shares.
• The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences ASL livestream on “The Oscars”’ YouTube page has earned 1.4 million viewers.
• Finally, ESPN and ABC’s fourth annual “Oscars” Pick’em contest (1/23/25 – 3/2/25) set game records, including 110,012 unique visitors (+8% year over year) and 122,161 entries (+11% year over year).

“American Idol”

• Immediately following “The Oscars,” a special 30-minute preview of “American Idol” earned 5.93 million Total Viewers and 0.84 rating among Adults 18-49.
• The special preview scored the show’s highest rating in both demographics for a season launch in three years — since 2/27/22.
• “American Idol” season eight premieres Sunday, March 9, at 8 p.m. (EDT/PDT) on ABC, and streams next day on Hulu.

Source: Nielsen Live+Same Day Ratings for 3/2/25, or as dated. Talkwalker Social Content Ratings, based on linear episode-level interactions, U.S.-based activity Twitter Trending Archive. 2024-2025 Season (9/23/24-3/2/25).

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Contact
Leslie Schwartz
leslie.l.schwartz@disney.com