Oscars ratings rebound as Smith hooks viewers

LOS ANGELES • The Oscars were in desperate need of a ratings boost and, on a night when actor Will Smith stunned viewers by slapping comedian Chris Rock on stage, some 15.4 million Americans tuned in.

Preliminary audience figures, revealed by broadcaster ABC on Monday, represent a significant recovery from last year's record-low 9.9 million live viewers, although they are still the second lowest in televised Academy Awards history.

The moment when Smith struck Rock for quipping about his wife's hair-loss condition immediately went viral online, launching countless memes and opinions both defending and condemning the Best Actor winner.

"Does the Academy want this kind of publicity? No, it doesn't. It doesn't want the kind of publicity that says violence takes place at the Oscars," Variety magazine's senior culture and events editor Marc Malkin told Agence France-Presse.

"That said, does it make more people talk about the Oscars in the Academy? For certain. I'm just not sure this is the way they want to be talked about."

The television rating recovery mirrors those of several other awards shows, including the Emmys in September last year and the recent Screen Actors Guild award ceremonies.

Many award shows were forced to stage virtual or low-key ceremonies last year because of the pandemic, and drew unusually low audiences.

Oscar figures last year fell by more than 50 per cent from the previous ceremony's 23.6 million, which was already a record low, as award shows struggle to remain relevant in an era of social media and binge-watching on streaming networks.

Academy producers this year resorted to innovations such as pre-taping the announcements of winners in several less starry Oscar categories, and adding a "fan favourite" prize for a film voted by Twitter users, which was won by zombie movie, Army Of The Dead.

Sunday night's show also ended with a historic win for Coda, which featured a mainly deaf cast and was the first Best Picture triumph for a streaming service.

But it was the unscripted and highly controversial moment between Smith and Rock that created the Oscars' talking point on Sunday.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE