The 98th Oscars 2026 drew just under 17.9 million viewers, a 9 percent decline from 2025 and the smallest audience since 2022, when the ceremony returned to a traditional host format. The 98th Oscars 2026 drew just under 17.9 million viewers Sunday night, marking a 9 percent decline from last year's ceremony and the smallest audience since 2022, according to preliminary Nielsen data. The 2025 ceremony had attracted 19.7 million viewers, which itself was down from 2024's 21.5 million. The steady erosion continues a post-pandemic trend that has seen the broadcast struggle to recapture audiences that once regularly exceeded 40 million viewers in the 1990s and 2000s. The ceremony's all-time low remains 2021's 10.4 million, when the pandemic disrupted production and the show was held in a socially distanced format at Union Station. The 98th Oscars 2026, hosted by Conan O'Brien, aired live on ABC and streamed on Hulu. The 3-hour-40-minute ceremony featured Paul Thomas Anderson's "One Battle after Another" taking Best Picture and a tribute to Hollywood legends lost in the past year, including Robert Redford and Rob Reiner, with Barbra Streisand singing a few bars of "The Way We Were." ...