Why did Oscar increase this year, but could have done a lot better?

The TV Oscars broadcast on the Oscars Sunday night showed significant growth: the 91st Academy Awards attracted an average audience of 29.6 million viewers, an increase of 11.5% over 2018. In the demo As much coveted 18-49 year olds, the show earned a score of 7.7, 13 percentage gain. In households at the counter market, the Oscars scored 20.6, up about 6% from last year.

Good news, but not really great. Although the show is the most watched television show in the last two years – number 3 behind last year's episode "This Is Us" after the Super Bowl (33.4 million viewers , 11.6 points), and the infamous Oscars 2017 (32.9 million viewers, 9.1) – it's still the second-worst Oscar rating in its history.

It was not that difficult to increase the number of viewers since the 2018 issue reached a record high, with 26.54 million viewers and a score of 6.8 in the demo of 18-49 year olds . There is nowhere to go but to increase.

Read more: Oscars 2019 Review: The Academy gives and takes away, but it was a Helluva show

The odds were in his favor: history tells us that when the biggest box office films are favored to win the best movie, the Oscars telecast numbers react accordingly. The 70th Oscars in 1998 attracted 57.25 million viewers, thanks in part to the success of "Titanic" ($ 600 million at the national box office, before the Oscars), while the 76th Oscars attracted 43.56 million of viewers through "The Lord of the Rings": The Return of the King "(368 million Canadian dollars, before the Oscars).

ABC

"Clearly, people are turning to the major categories: Best Film, Best Actor, Best Actress," ABC Entertainment President Karey Burke told reporters at the Television Critics Association's press tour early in the week. this month. "Especially this year, given the impressive number of nominees among the candidates, we will see … people stay tuned throughout the series to find out who will win these grand prizes."

Capitalizing on box office popularity has inspired the Academy's unwise and ephemeral plans to add a category of the best popular film. In any case, it was barely needed this year: three of the eight nominees in the Best Film category were blockbusters at the national box office. "A star is born" generated about $ 210 million, "Bohemian Rhapsody", $ 213 million and "Black Panther", $ 700 million in North America.

In the same vein, greater inclusiveness at the box office could also result in a more diverse audience for the Oscars. Although Nielsen does not publish ratings by race or ethnicity, it goes without saying that more black viewers would attend the year when "Black Panther" and Spike Lee were looking for major rewards.

Rob Latour / REX / Shutterstock

Regarding the show, ABC has undergone many major changes in its planned program, from Kevin Hart to host, which has reinstated the live rewards of the categories Cinematography, Editing, Makeup and Hairstyle, and Action in direct. Although this decision probably has no impact on the audience, ABC, including four of the five songs nominated, was a wise choice.

In addition to Queen and Adam Lambert teaming up for the first show, Jennifer Hudson offered a powerful rendition of "I'm Fight" ("RBG"), Bette Midler doing justice to the lullaby "The Place Where Things Go" lost go "(" Mary Poppins Returns "), and Gillian Welch and David Rawlings singing" When a cowboy swaps his spurs against wings "(" The Buster Scruggs Ballad "). But it was the performance of "Shallow" from "A Star Is Born" that was a highlight of television broadcasting – a real success. Moving and well produced, the beautiful performance demonstrated what the Oscars could offer beyond acceptance speeches and editing. It offered a fresh and original entertainment value without moving away from the movie business.

Before the broadcast, ABC had promised to limit the broadcast to three hours. The show lasted 13 minutes, but it's still a major improvement; Last year's show lasted 3 hours and 54 minutes. Limiting the time spent on acceptance speeches while going without the host, lengthy comic excerpts, and several edits simplified the show. ABC's plans to limit the broadcast allowed the network to program its new action comedy "Whiskey Cavalier" after the Oscars. This bold move would not have worked with an inflated show.

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