Posted on 03/06/2006 12:10:29 PM PST by abb
LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- Preliminary figures from Sunday night's Academy Awards telecast indicate ratings for the awards extravaganza were down versus the past two years' but still ahead of 2003's ratings.
The Walt Disney Co. (DIS) network ABC said the awards show got a 27.1 household rating, reflecting the percentage of total households watching the telecast. It also attracted a 40 share, representing the percentage of homes with televisions on that were tuned to the awards show.
On an inflation-adjusted basis, no field of best-picture nominees in years had done as poorly at the box office as this year's entries.
By comparison, the telecast got a 30.1 household rating with a 43 share in 2005, while in 2004 it received a 29.8 rating with a 43 share. In 2003, right after the U.S. went to war in Iraq, the show received a 25.5 rating with a 37 share.
It was feared that ratings for this year's awards show, hosted by novice emcee Jon Stewart, could reach a new low. Collectively, the five best-picture nominees had taken in the lowest nominee-revenue total in several years. See full story.
Top-prize-winner "Crash" set an inflation-adjusted new low in U.S. box-office receipts of $53.4 million in comparison with best-picture winners stretching back at least a quarter of a century. In 1987, "The Last Emperor" took in $44 million, but inflation turns that figure into more than $74 million in 2006 dollars.
And "Crash" is long gone from theaters, so the film's post-Oscar bounce will come purely from home video. "Crash" was released in May.
The biggest box-office hit among the five was "Brokeback Mountain," which had taken in a relatively paltry $78 million in U.S. receipts through Sunday.
Near midday Eastern time Monday, ABC had yet to compile actual numbers of households tuned to the telecast. End of Story
Russ Britt is the Los Angeles bureau chief for MarketWatch.
(Denny Crane: "I Don't Want To Socialize With A Pinko Liberal Democrat Commie. Say What You Like About Republicans. We Stick To Our Convictions. Even When We Know We're Dead Wrong.")
Surprised it topped the 2003 telecast.
Brokeass Oscars
Here's Rooters' spin...
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Oscar organizers' fears of weak television ratings for an Academy Awards lacking in star power and box-office hits may about to be confirmed.
Preliminary figures released by Nielsen Media Research on Monday for ABC's 3 1/2-hour Oscar telecast capped by the surprise Oscar triumph of racial drama "Crash" indicate a ratings drop of about 10 percent from last year's ceremony.
Sunday night's broadcast, hosted for the first time by comedian Jon Stewart, drew an average household rating of 27.1 percent, which would be the lowest percentage of homes that has tuned into the Academy Awards since 2003, according to data Nielsen collected in the 55 largest U.S. TV markets.
By comparison, last year's Oscars ceremony, which crowned boxing film "Million Dollar Baby" as 2004's best picture, garnered an average household rating of 30.1.
More accurate national numbers are expected later on Monday measuring audience size according to the average number of individuals who watched the broadcast.
Nielsen ratings for the Oscars and other entertainment awards shows have been generally declining over the years. They have tended to be highest in years when films that packed the multiplexes also figured prominently at the Oscars.
That was not the case this year, as none of the five movies nominated for the top prize made much of an impact at the box office. And many of the performers nominated in the major categories, such as best actor winner Philip Seymour Hoffman, were hardly household names.
The Oscar-sponsoring Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the ABC network had hoped that Stewart, a popular host of cable TV's faux newscast "The Daily Show," could generate additional interest this year, especially among young viewers who make up the core of his fan base.
Still, the Oscars gave ABC, a unit of the Walt Disney Co., a welcome ratings boost over its network rivals on Sunday night. The pre-Oscar show and the ceremony itself together beat the combined competition in metered market ratings of CBS, NBC, Fox and WB by 36 percent during prime time.
Seriously, how much could it possibly have cost to make Bareback Mountain?
Loafer lightener isn't THAT expensive is it?
I think these are the overnight ratinngs in the big markets such as New York and LA.
Wait until they release the figures for the Red states... the ratings will suck.... big time.
The numbers are also inflated as the other networks don't program anything worth watching. I decided to watch the Andy Griffith marathon.....I forgot how funny that show was....RIP Don Knotts.
Typical dishonest liberal spin, why does anyone believe any of these frauds anymore???
"ONLY THE 2ND LOWEST RATINGS EVER!!"
Wow, are we supposed to be impressed that Hollyweird may have narrowly averted its lowest ratings of all time??
It's still clear that much of the public is turned off by the depravity, idiocy, and liberalism of much of Hollyweird. No amount of sympathetic media spin can wish away the facts......
Indeed.
Most people never watched the movies nominated nor knew the nominees....
Hollywood down
Recruiters on campus
students taping fascist professors
Brokeback got it's back broke...
During 2003 we were all wrapped up in the coming Iraq war. There is no such excuse this time. It is just a poor product.
By the way, I watched NONE of the Oscars. I was at a Marriott Courtyard last night and tuned into ESPN3. A whole night of Mike Tyson beating the bejezus out of his opponents. I turned off the TV prior to the last bout with Buster Douglas
I forgot they were on last night. I'm quite content to read a good book instead of watching these lowlife back biters try and impress each other.
We'll have to wait for mediabistro to tabulate more accurate numbers & have them posted!
http://www.mediabistro.com/tvnewser/ratings/default.asp
Thing is, a lot of people must have figured that Stewart would bash Republicans ... but Stewart actually bashed a lot of Hollywood sacred cows.
>The pre-Oscar show and the ceremony itself together beat the combined competition in metered market ratings of CBS, NBC, Fox and WB by 36 percent during prime time.<
Because they made no effort to compete.There was nothing but reruns and low rated shows on TV last night.
how does Hollywood reconcile feminism and "It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp" ?
hypocrites all.
Loafer lightener isn't THAT expensive is it?
I'm assuming not much was spent on condoms either...
Line was long at the video store last night.
This report is only about percentages. Is there a real report that compares how many people actually saw Holyweird patting each other's behind show.
The ratings might have been lower than normal, but I bet it still handily won last night. Nothing is getting the ratings it used to, there are too many options now.
I did the same thing.
I never realized how corrupted comedy has become since those years.
think the libs will get the 'message?"
nah - they're tone deaf. Let 'em keep making their propaganda movies - it's draining their pockets.
Most of America has finally caught on: people who make a living pretending to be someone else are not the real heroes.
the Narcissism that pervades the industry hasn't allowed that truth to penetrate
Why would you do that? That is the best fight of them all. Tysons eyebrow inflated the size of a balloon after Douglas clocked him good.
My husband and I saw March of the Penguins - that's it - never heard of any of the other movies except Brokeback from this forum. I just asked my teenage son if he had heard of the movie "Crash" and he said no and asked ME what it was about - like I know!!!!
I can't believe that many people watched Jon Stewart's unfunny jokes.
George Cloony read Hollywood's epitaph last night. We the public are too stupid to understand their genius. They are going to continue making message films. Hollywood is dead. Yay!
LOL..I hear ya!
When I see the infomercial about the Old Classic Dean Martin Roasts and all the Great Talents like
Frank Sinatra
Dean Martin
Lucille Ball
Milton Beryle
Ronald Reagan
Sammy Davis Jr
Gene Kelly
Jimmy Stewart
Johnathan Winters I remember as a kid watching these poeple on the Academy Awards and how great the movies were the classic glamour and humor of Old Hollywood which has died along with these folks....
I really couldn't watch poor Mike hitting the deck again.
By the way, are your known as "frogfuzz" at any other forum? Because if you are, we've played golf together.
None that I know of.
How good is it? Al-Jazeera gave it 4 1/2 pipe bombs. It's Air Syria's featured in-flight movie this month — go figure!
Priceless.
you would have remembered the mashie
IMO, one of her best. :)
The La Brea tarpits are conveniently located near SoddomWood.
Pray for W and Our Freedom Fighters
Steyn and others have had a huge laugh at cLooney's assertion that moviemakers have become 'braver.'
I'd like to know: braver in the face of what? Scorn, derision, free speech?
What a nitwit this individual is.
What was up w/Lauren Bacall? She appeared to have a lot of problems in reading (?) the prompter, or do you think that was the problem at all? She stumbled in her dialog quite a bit. Any learned opinions out there, or perhaps a reference to her performance at another website?
Lucky guy!
Sorry. Didn't watch. Spent some quality time with my son last night.
Is the Oscars a career ender for Stewart? I sure hope so. This is one no-talent bum on the sidelines, for sure.
Wow, Annie was right on the money, and of course wickedly funny.
I love that chick. (Too, I hear she likes tobacco and I like to smoke a bit.)
If I weren't married I'd make a play for her.
The past week either AMC or TCM has had all the Oscar winning movies on. I was watching Showboat yesterday (I think it won an award) and while they where belting out "Old Man River" I wondered what had gone wrong in present day Hollywood. Maybe too much " it's all about me" attitude !!!
Sorry. Didn't watch. Heard that he was an equal opportunity offender.
Yeah, they need another blockbuster, like "Fahrenheit 911".
Thanks - I took a peak - will read it at length when I have more time.
I have an opinion of Lauren Bacalls acting.If she hadnt been Bogarts woman she would have ended up like Sondra Locke.
I guess she is getting a little older and may have some problems.
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