An estimated 43 million people watched the Academy Awards, the most-watched audience for the show in a decade and most popular entertainment event on television since the "Friends" finale in 2004.
The Nielsen company said Monday that Oscar viewership was up for the third straight year and is considered yet another example of how social media is helping to drive up the ratings for big television events. The Oscars last year were seen by 40.4 million people.
Ellen DeGeneres was host of the Academy Awards for a second time, replacing the edgy Seth MacFarlane, who had the job last year.
The Oscars, which aired Sunday, are usually the second most-watched television program of the year in the United States, after the Super Bowl.
Mets’ victory over Brewers in NL Wild Card Series decider was ESPN’s most-watched game in 3 years
The New York Mets' 4-2 comeback victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on Thursday night in the deciding game of the NL Wild Card Series averaged 4,017,000 viewers on ESPN and streaming, making it ESPN's most-watched Major League Baseball game in three years.
ESPN and Nielsen reported Friday that the audience peaked at 5.75 million viewers during the ninth inning, when the Mets rallied from a 2-0 deficit to reach the divisional round for the first time since 2015, when they reached the World Series.
It was the biggest audience for a playoff game on ESPN since the 2021 AL wild-card game, when the Boston Red Sox's win over the New York Yankees averaged 7.7 million.
This year's nine MLB Wild Card Series games averaged 2.82 million on ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC, a 25% increase over last year and a 1% gain from 2022.
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