Oscar award show 2016 registers lowest viewing since 2008

Los Angeles: Hollywood’s biggest awards show, the Oscars, which took place on Sunday evening, saw 34.3 million viewers tuning in on ABC. This was a fall of eight per cent from last year and the lowest since 2008, according to preliminary estimates from Nielsen.

However, among men, especially in the 18–34 age bracket, the show fared better. The lack of diversity being highlighted before and during the show through the Twitter hashtag #Oscarsowhite took away to some extent from the fact that this was the most competitive race in many years.

For the first time in decades, a film that won Best Picture won just another award. ‘Spotlight’ won Best Picture and Best Screenplay but nothing else. ‘The Revenant’, which won Best Director, won just two other Oscars for its star Leonardo DiCaprio and for cinematography. ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’ did win six Oscars but they were all in the tech categories.