Still Wrangled Over 10 Million Viewers

Produced by Jesse Collins, Stacey Sher, and Steven Soderbergh, ABC's 93rd Academy Awards was ranked as one of the lowest-rated and least-watched Oscars in history. The award show garnered 10.4 million viewers, with the 70th Academy Awards in 1998 being the most-watched Oscars with 57.25 million viewers.

Trouble in Award Show Paradise?

Still, the award show beat out the viewings of the most recent Grammys, Golden Globes, and Emmys. CBS's Grammys held 9.2 million viewers last month, while February's Golden Globes on NBC racked in 6.9 million and last September's Emmys on ABC racked in 6.4 million.

The easiest direction to point is towards the Covid-19 pandemic. Virtual award shows are not the most entertaining, but atop of that, many moviegoers weren't able to watch the films in theaters until a few weeks ago.

Still One of the Most Historic Nights

Regardless, this year's Academy Awards were absolutely necessary for making history and changing the lens of Hollywood. From the second woman ever and first woman of color, Chloé Zhao, winning Best Director, to Yuh-jung Youn being the first Asian woman to win an acting Oscar since 1958 and the first Korean actress ever nominated.