92nd Oscars draw record low audience

The 92nd Academy Awards, or Oscars, ceremony Sunday night was watched by the smallest audience in the history of the show's broadcast.

The three-hour-plus broadcast conducted by the ABC network averaged about 23.6 million viewers and a 5.3 rating among adults 18 to 49, well below the 29.56 million and 7.7 for last year's scores.

That means a 20 percent viewers drop-off from last year and the lowest number since Nielsen began providing audience totals in 1974. Last year's Oscars stopped a four-year ratings slide, growing the audience for the first time since 2014.

Joining other awards shows, the Oscars have suffered steep ratings declines over the past few years. The 2020 Golden Globes dipped 2 percent on 2019 to eight-year viewership low, while the 2019 Emmys was the lowest-rated and least-watched in the show's history.

However, the Oscars 2020 is still the most watched awards show of the season, beating the Grammys by under 5 million viewers and the Globes by 5.3 million.

South Korean movie "Parasite" swept to a surprise victory Sunday night, winning a historic Best Picture award, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay and Best International Feature award.