Oscars ratings up 50% on last year but still second worst in history

Changes made to the format this year may have increased viewership but the program still struggled to attract an audience

The 2022 Oscars drew more viewers than last year's record-low ceremony, but still fell well below prior years as award shows struggle to attract primetime attention.

The nearly four-hour telecast drew 15.36 million viewers according to time-zone-adjusted fast national numbers from Nielsen, Variety reported on Monday. The audience figures show a 56% improvement over the 2021 ceremony, which drew an all-time low of 10.4 million viewers and prompted the Academy and ABC to shake up the program in an attempt to woo more viewers.