Oscar TV figures hit record low
- 00:01:34
- ITN
Oscar TV figures hit record low
TV figures for this year's Oscars ceremony have hit a record low.The 80th anniversary edition of the Academy Awards, dominated by European stars and films that played poorly at the box office, averaged 32 million viewers, entering the record books as the least watched ever.The national viewer tally was down about one million viewers from the previous record low, set in 2003 when the Oscars were presented just after the US-led invasion of Iraq.The figures rank as the smallest US TV audience for the Academy Awards since 1974, when actual viewer totals first became available.By contrast, the most watched Oscar broadcast on record was the 1998 show, when the box-office blockbuster Titanic attracted 55 million viewers.The build up to this year's ceremony was dominated by the Hollywood writers strike which went on for 14 weeks.The writers only had 11 days to produce material for the Academy Awards ceremony - a process which usually takes many weeks.The walk-out over writers' shares of potential profits from programming on the internet and other new media began on November 5. It was the worst strike to hit Hollywood in 20 years.Meanwhile, a host of stars including directors Joel and Ethan Coen, best actor Daniel Day Lewis and host Jon Stewart partied into the night at the Oscars after show bash.© Independent Television News Limited 2008. All rights reserved.
ITN | February 26, 2008
