RATINGS FOR 2014 OSCARS SAME AS 2013’S

In the end, it didn’t matter whether the host was the “edgy” Seth MacFarland or the “sweet” Ellen DeGeneres. The total audience for ABC’s telecast of the 86th annual Oscars ceremony on Sunday night was virtually identical with last year’s: 40.17 million viewers versus 40.38 million a year ago, a difference that was statistically insignificant. Among the key group of 18-49-year-old viewers the telecast drew a 12.1 rating, the same as last year. The telecast peaked in the its opening half hour (8:30 p.m.) with 45.32 million viewers. The opening red-carpet coverage between 7:00 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. averaged 26.8 million. The figures are preliminary and do not include the period between 11:00 p.m. and 12:05 a.m.