Overview
- Nielsen’s Big Data + Panel shows the 98th Academy Awards averaged 17.86 million viewers on ABC and Hulu, down 9% year over year, with a 3.92 rating in adults 18–49, off 14%.
- Disney said the telecast remained the No. 1 primetime entertainment program of the 2025–26 season despite the dip in linear TV audience.
- Social engagement rose sharply, with impressions up about 42% and more than 129 million video views on Academy platforms reported during the broadcast.
- The show contended with a U.S.–Dominican Republic World Baseball Classic semifinal that drew about 7.37 million viewers on FS1/Fox Deportes, and outlets noted on-air audio and technical glitches.
- Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another won six Oscars including best picture and director, Sinners took four including best actor for Michael B. Jordan, and Conan O’Brien returned as host as ABC/Hulu carry the show through 2028 before the planned shift to YouTube.