Oscar Ratings Fall to 8-Year Low With 34.3 Million Viewers

Oscar ratings continued to slide this year, falling to an eight-year low.

Sunday’s glitzy Academy Awards ceremony drew in 34.3 million viewers, which is the fewest since 2008, according to the Associated Press. That’s also a drop from the 37.3 million people who tuned in to watch the show last year when Neil Patrick Harris was the host, the Nielsen company said Monday.

Prominent stars like Will Smith had pledged not to attend the ceremony, which was marred over controversy of the award show’s all-white nominees. Comedian Chris Rock hosted the nearly 4-hour long ABC event this year. The Academy Awards reached more than 40 million viewers each year in 2014 and 2013, according to the AP.

[AP]