Will Smith's Chris Rock slap boosts Oscar ratings by extra 1.5 million viewers

An estimated 15.36 million households watched the 94th Academy Awards, beating last year's all-time low, preliminary data says

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  From left, Emilia Jones, Daniel Durant, Sian Heder, Marlee Matlin, Eugenio Derbez, Fabrice Gianfermi, Patrick Wachsberger, Justin Maurer, Philippe Rousselet, Troy Kotsur and Amy Forsyth accept the Best Picture award for ‘Coda’ on stage during the 94th Annual Academy Awards at Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, California. AFP

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  Will Smith accepts the Best Actor in a Leading Role award for ‘King Richard’ onstage during the 94th Annual Academy Awards at Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, California. AFP

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  US actress Jessica Chastain poses with the award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for her performance in 'The Eyes of Tammy Faye' in the press room during the 94th Oscars at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, California. AFP

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  US singer-songwriter Finneas O'Connell, left, and US singer-songwriter Billie Eilish accept the award for Best Music (Original Song) for 'No Time to Die' onstage during the 94th Oscars at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, California. AFP

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  Bryon Howard, from left, Clark Spencer, Yvett Merino, and Jared Bush, winners of the award for Best Animated Feature Film for 'Encanto', pose in the press room at the Oscar Awards event on Sunday, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. AP

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  Riz Ahmed and Aneil Karia, winners of Best Live Action Short Film, pose in the press room during the 94th Annual Academy Awards at Hollywood and Highland in Hollywood, California. Getty Images

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  Japanese director Ryusuke Hamaguchi, right, accepts the award for Best International Feature Film for 'Drive My Car' onstage during the 94th Oscars at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, California. AFP

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  Kenneth Branagh, winner of Best Original Screenplay for 'Belfast', poses in the press room at the Oscars, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. AP

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  Troy Kotsur poses with his Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for 'Coda' in the press room during the 94th annual Academy Awards ceremony. EPA

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  New Zealand Director Jane Campion poses with the Best Director award for 'The Power Of The Dog' in the press room. AFP

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  Actress Ariana DeBose poses with her Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for 'West Side Story' in the press room during the 94th Oscars at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, California. AFP

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  Left to right, Joseph Patel, Ahmir 'Questlove' Thompson, David Dinerstein, and Robert Fyvolent pose with their Oscar for Best Documentary Feature for 'Summer of Soul (. . . Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised),' in the press room during the 94th annual Academy Awards. EPA

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  The makeup and hairstyling team for 'The Eyes of Tammy Faye' Linda Dowds, centre, Stephanie Ingram, left, and Justin Raleigh accepts the Best Makeup and Hairstyling Award at Oscars 2022. AFP

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  Brian Connor, second from left, Paul Lambert, third from left, Gerd Nefzer, third from right, and Tristan Myles, second from right, winners of the Oscar for Best Visual Effects for 'Dune', pose with presenters Rachel Zegler, left, and Jacob Elordi, right, in the press room. EPA

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  Spanish director and animator Alberto Mielgo, right, and Spanish producer Leo Sanchez show off their award for Best Animated Short Film for 'The Windshield Wiper' in the press room. AFP

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  Canadian filmmaker Ben Proudfoot with his Oscar for Best Documentary Short Film for 'The Queen of Basketball'. EPA

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  Greig Fraser, winner of the Oscar for Cinematography for ‘Dune’, poses in the press room during the 94th Annual Academy Awards at Hollywood and Highland in Hollywood, California. AFP

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  British costume designer Jenny Beavan accepts the Oscar for Best Costume Design for 'Cruella' during the 94th annual Academy Awards. EPA

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  British film editor Joe Walker poses with the Best Film Editing award for 'Dune'. AFP

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  Patrice Vermette, left, and Zsuzsanna Sipos, winners of the Academy Award for Production Design for 'Dune', pose with their Oscar trophies in the press room. EPA

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  The sound team of 'Dune', from left, Doug Hemphill, Theo Green, Mark Mangini, Ron Barlett, and Mac Ruth in the press room during the 94th Oscars at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, California. AFP

Television ratings for the Oscars rebounded from last year's record low, but the event does not have the appeal to viewers that it once had.

Sunday's ceremony reached an estimated 15.36 million viewers, according to preliminary Nielsen company numbers released on Monday by ABC. A more detailed estimate is expected on Tuesday, with elements such as out-of-home viewing added.

Coda won Best Picture, but all of the winners and losers were overshadowed by Best Actor winner Will Smith storming the stage to slap comic Chris Rock after a joke Rock made about Smith's wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.

The 2021 ceremony, held in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, hit a low of 9.85 million viewers. That led to several changes in the Oscars, including the addition of hosts and awarding eight categories before the broadcast and editing them into the live show.

While that seemed to help, an audience of 15 million is still below the 23.6 million people who watched the Oscars in 2020. Until last year, that was the smallest audience for an Oscars ceremony yet.

Nielsen did not have more specific viewership numbers for Sunday's show. The research company Samba TV said its statistics indicated that about 1.5 million more households watched the Oscars after the Smith-Rock incident than were watching before.

Viewership for live television events, with the notable exception of NFL football games, has been declining for several years with the advent of streaming and cord-cutting.

Some Hollywood observers believe that the niche appeal of many films honoured by the Oscars also limited the audience.