As the curtain has closed on the 2021-2022 awards season, the telecasts are showing varying degrees of rebound from their quite dismal ratings from last year — but most are not coming close to pre-pandemic viewership levels despite returning to in-person ceremonies and all of the year’s biggest stars in attendance.
Last month’s Oscars — including that Slap Heard Round the World — posted the biggest bounce-back in viewership of all the major awards shows. The broadcast drew 16.6 million live plus same day viewers, a 58% increase from the all-time low of 10.4 million viewers for the scaled-back ceremony in 2021.