The metric system
The Oscars are certainly hoping to defy recent awards show ratings gravity. In January, Nielsen Media Research numbers showed that the Golden Globes ticked downward to 9.3 million viewers, a -2% declined versus its 2024 edition. (Due to a contract dispute between CBS and Nielsen, the network initially released viewership data from VideoAmp that claimed a 10.1 million finish.)
And earlier this month, the Grammys dial only went up to 15.4 million viewers, down from 16.9 million the year before.
Kramer’s mission—and he chooses to accept it—is breaking that downward trend and continuing the Oscars’ own upward trajectory. After falling to record lows in 2021, the show has clawed its way out of the post-Covid malaise, rising to 18.8 million in 2023 and 19.5 million during last year’s Barbenheimer extravaganza.
Meeting or exceeding that 2024 number would be a major victory, particularly amidst concerns over whether this year’s crop of Best Picture nominees—save Wicked—are popular Kenough.
“We have to think about the metric for success differently as our viewing habits change,” Kramer says when asked how the show’s streaming numbers will be packaged with linear ratings. To that end, he envisions a metric that starts with a night-of number that includes ABC and Hulu for the first time, followed by the seven-day ratings numbers as well as international and social media engagement.
Kramer notes that the official Academy Instagram account has already seen an influx of engagement from Brazilian movie lovers cheering on Fernanda Torres, Oscar-nominated star of I’m Still Here, which is also in contention for Best International Feature and Best Picture. That’s the kind of “progressive” metric he wants to champion going forward.
“The days of just saying how many people watched a show on linear TV night-of has evolved—and that’s good,” Kramer emphasizes.
