SUNDAY UPDATE: In final FINAL numbers, THE ACADEMY AWARDS gained an extra 0.2 to 13.1, which although tiny as a percentage of total rating, was gratifying to the Academy and ABC, because it pushed the telecast 0.1 above last year’s Seth MacFarlane-hosted show in 18-49s (it was already comfortably up in older-skewing total viewers). However, after timezone adjustment, OSCAR LIVE red carpet coverage dropped from 5.3-9.1 over its 3 half-hours to 3.1-6.9.
SUNDAY CABLE: Although even THE WALKING DEAD (AMC) couldn’t come close to The Oscars, its own rating was barely dinged by the huge competition, down just 0.2 to 6.4. Companion show TALKING DEAD was actually up 0.2 to 2.6. Showtime and most other cablers stayed away from the night, but HBO aired its regular line-up, and TRUE DETECTIVE felt the pinch, dropping 0.2 to 1.0 (although HBO truly doesn’t care if viewers watch initial runs, reruns, DVR’d runs or online, as long as they pay to subscribe), while GIRLS was steady at 0.5. Meanwhile, E’s LIVE FROM THE RED CARPET coverage was at 1.2-1.3 in the 5:30-8:30PM period
And between Seth MacFarlane and Ellen DeGeneres, the winner was… essentially a tie.
ABC: There was about as much excitement in the ACADEMY AWARDS ratings as there was in last night’s show. In 2013, Seth MacFarlane led the telecast to a preliminary 12.1 rating in 18-49s that adjusted up to 13.0, and last night Ellen DeGeneres brought in a preliminary 12.1 that adjusted up to 12.9. (However, The Oscars did move up in the older-skewing total viewers metric, from 40.4M to 43M.) The OSCARS RED CARPET LIVE numbers were also close to 2013, as last year rose from 5.0 to 9.2 over its 90 minutes (each half-hour is rated separately), and last night went from 5.3 to 9.1.
CBS: 60 MINUTES rose 0.1 to 1.4, and THE AMAZING RACE tied last week’s series low 1.5. After that, reruns at 0.5/0.4.
NBC: Reruns at 0.9/1.0.
FOX: Reruns led by 1.3 for FAMILY GUY.
All the networks are new tonight, and on A&E, BATES MOTEL returns for its 2d season, followed by the new THOSE WHO KILL and then a Talking Dead-ish post-Bates talk show.
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