CBS News
2024 Oscars ratings reveal biggest viewership in 4 years
The decision to move the 96th Academy Awards up an hour is looking to have been a sound one, with the number of people watching growing for a third consecutive year.
The telecast of the awards ceremony began at 7 p.m. Eastern, with the earlier time and multiple nominations for box-office hits “Barbie” and Oppenheimer” likely factors in the number of those watching.
Sunday’s Oscars were the most-watched network awards show since February 2020, Nielsen said.
How many people watched the 2024 Oscars?
Sunday’s telecast had 19.5 million people watching, a four-year high, and up from 18.8 million a year ago, according to Nielsen.
Viewership peaked in the final half hour, which had Ryan Gosling performing “I’m Just Ken” from the film “Barbie,” and Cillian Murphy winning best actor for “Oppenheimer,” which also took best director for Christopher Nolan, and best picture in a unusual delivery by presenter Al Pacino.
The broadcast in reality began a little less than an hour early, as Gaza protests outside slowed down attendee entrances at the theatre, and host Jimmy Kimmel kicking the show off about six minutes late.
The show also marks another success story for live TV.
Last month, 16.9 million watched the Grammy Awards, up 34% from 2023, and more people watched the Kansas City Chiefs win their second straight Super Bowl than have watched the big game in any previous year, with Taylor Swift and Usher bringing their fans to help drive record ratings for the 2024 NFL championship.
How do Oscars ratings for 2024 compare to past years?
For years, the Academy Awards was frequently the second most-watched television program of the year behind the Super Bowl. Until 2018, the Oscar telecast had never fallen under 30 million viewers, according to Nielsen records. The high-water mark was the 55 million people who watched “Titanic” clean up in 1998.
Since the 43.7 million who watched in 2014, viewership of the Academy Awards has declined steadily to 26.5 million in 2018, then went back up to 29.6 million in 2019, and 23.6 million in 2020. The bottom fell out with the pandemic-diminished show in 2021, seen by a mere 9.85 million. Viewership rebounded in 2022 — the year of “the Slap” — with 16.6 million.
The movies and their makers aren’t entirely to blame. The generational shift to streaming and other video forms has gutted broadcast television viewership, and few live events other than the Super Bowl draw the sort of audiences they once did.
—The Associated Press contributed to this report.
CBS News
Kamala Harris will speak with “60 Minutes” tomorrow. Here’s what to know for the interview.
Voters will get the chance to hear from Vice President Kamala Harris on Monday as she presents her case for why she should be president in a “60 Minutes” election special.
For decades, “60 Minutes” has featured both Republican and Democratic nominees for presidents, but this year, former President Donald Trump backed out after previously indicating he would be on the show. Correspondent Scott Pelley, who’d been set to interview Trump, will instead travel to Arizona’s Maricopa County, home to more than 60% of Arizona’s voters and a critical battleground in a key swing state.
One thing is certain about the election; with the U.S. deeply involved in both the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, whoever wins on Nov. 5 will become a wartime president.
What Harris will discuss
Israel’s war started one year ago after Hamas launched a surprise terror attack and correspondent Bill Whitaker will discuss the ongoing war with Harris.
Harris will also discuss the economy, immigration, her record as vice president and the differences between herself and Trump.
Democratic vice presidential candidate Gov. Tim Walz will also appear.
Whitaker joined the Democratic ticket on the campaign trail this week to gain insight into their platform’s priorities and values, and what the candidates believe voters should know.
Why Trump pulled out of the “60 Minutes” interview
Leading up to the candidate hour, Trump, through campaign spokespeople, was the first candidate to accept the “60 Minutes” request to be interviewed for the special, according to CBS News. It had been agreed that both candidates would receive equal time during the broadcast.
Trump last sat down with 60 Minutes in 2020. He walked out during the interview with Lesley Stahl. Trump referenced the incident on Tuesday night at a Milwaukee press conference when asked about his decision not to participate in the Oct. 7 “60 Minutes” election special.
“Well, right now, I went to – they came to me and would like me to do an interview, but first I want to get an apology, because the last time I did an interview with them, if you remember, they challenged me on the computer,” Trump said. “They said the ‘laptop from hell’ was from Russia, and I said it wasn’t from Russia. It was from Hunter, and I never got an apology, so I’m sort of waiting. I’d love to do ’60 Minutes.’ I do everything.”
The Republican nominee for president emphasized that he felt he was owed an apology from “60 Minutes.”
“Let’s see if they do it. I wouldn’t mind doing 60,” Trump continued. “I’ve done ’60 Minutes’ a lot.”
In a statement on Tuesday, Trump campaign communications director Steven Cheung said that Trump’s team had not agreed to an interview.
“Fake News,” Cheung said in a post on X. “60 Minutes begged for an interview, even after they were caught lying about Hunter Biden’s laptop back in 2020. There were initial discussions, but nothing was ever scheduled or locked in. They also insisted on doing live fact checking, which is unprecedented.”
Previous Trump, Harris appearances on 60 Minutes
Trump previously sat down with “60 Minutes'” Mike Wallace in 1985, Pelley in 2015 and Lesley Stahl twice in 2016, first in July of that year and then again in November of 2016. He also spoke with Stahl again in 2018 and 2020.
Harris previously sat down with Whitaker last year. She also was interviewed by Norah O’Donnell, “CBS Evening News” anchor and “60 Minutes” contributing correspondent, in 2020.
How to watch the “60 Minutes” election special
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