ITV's first Academy Awards broadcast in two decades drew a peak audience of 1.1 million viewers, but faced immediate criticism over its tone and format. The overnight show, hosted by Jonathan Ross, averaged 630,000 viewers between 10:15pm and 2:30am.
The broadcaster secured the UK rights after the Oscars had been pay-per-view on Sky for 20 years. ITV opted for a panel of four non-specialists: Fay Ripley, Doc Brown, Richard Armitage and Yinka Bokinni. Viewers criticised their insights and failure to pronounce names such as Da'Vine Joy Randolph.
A comparison between Martin Scorsese's Killers of the Flower Moon and ITV soap Emmerdale was poorly received, as was a game of Pictionary. Sky's coverage had traditionally used a similar format with Alex Zane, but fewer viewers were familiar with it due to the subscription fee and earlier start time.
The Oscars were last free-to-air in the UK in 2004 on the BBC. Sky's viewership had declined to 35,000 in 2023 from 70,000 in 2022. In the US, last year's ceremony attracted 18.8 million viewers, up from 16.6 million, but far below the 57 million who watched in 1998.
