Ratings drop 16%
TV ratings for the Oscars drop 16%. The broadcast averages 36.6 million viewers, down from 43.7 million the previous year. The Washington Post writes:
It was bound to happen eventually. Neil Patrick Harris, the man who can host anything, finally stumbled. Even stripped to his skivvies in a ‘Birdman’ parody … (Harris) couldn’t deliver quite all the thrills needed to get through the three-hour, 38-minute Oscar folderol without a yawn.