There was a mixed reception to the first night of Academy Awards coverage on ITV, which secured the UK broadcast rights after two decades of the Oscars being aired pay-per-view on Sky.
Viewers peaked at 1.1m and averaged at 630,000 for the overnight broadcast, which began at 10:15pm and ran until 2:30am, but there was considerable backlash to the tone and format.
Hosted by Jonathan Ross – one-time frontman of the BBC’s late, lamented weekly film show – the broadcast saw the live show cut with jaunty banter and discussion from Ross and a four-person panel.
Rather than roping in film specialists for the evening, ITV had opted for a more eclectic range of names: Cold Feet’s Fay Ripley, comedian Doc Brown, The Hobbit actor Richard Armitage and radio presenter Yinka Bokinni.
Although all the panellists did appear to have watched the key films, viewers were left unimpressed by their insights, as well as their failure to pronounce names such as Da’Vine Joy Randolph, the best supporting actress winner.
A comparison of Killers of the Flower Moon – Martin Scorsese’s epic about the mass murder of Native Americans – and ITV soap Emmerdale also went down badly with many at home, as did a long game of guess-the-movie Pictionary.
In fact, Sky’s coverage has traditionally proceeded along similar lines, with Alex Zane quizzing a non-specialist quartet during what would be US ad breaks. Yet the subscription fee required to watch the show – as well as the later start time, as the ceremony was moved forward an hour this year – meant far fewer viewers would have been familiar with the format.
The Oscars were last free-to-air on UK TV in 2004, when the BBC still held live rights. Sky’s coverage had seen dwindling viewers in recent years, with 35,000 watching in 2023, compared with almost double that number in 2022.
The US has seen a similar pattern, although last year’s victory for Everything Everywhere All at Once did see a modest rise to 18.8 million, following 2022’s 16.6 million.
In 1998, 57 million people watched the show live in the US. Ratings for this year’s US telecast will be released later on Monday.
Read more about the 2024 Oscars:
Here’s our news wrap and full list of winners – now read Peter Bradshaw’s verdict
Al Pacino, British mothers and a codpiece envelope: the real winners and losers of the night
Relive how the ceremony unfolded with our liveblog and get up to speed with the top viral moments and the best quotes of the night
Have a gander at how the stars looked on the red carpet and at the show
