THE OSCARS

Chris Rock didn't utter any naughty words at the Oscars — and he didn't boost ratings either.

By Scott Collins, Times Staff Writer

Chris Rock didn't utter any naughty words at the Oscars — and he didn't boost ratings either.

Average viewership of Sunday's Academy Awards telecast slipped 5%, to 41.5 million viewers, compared to last year's show, according to preliminary data released today from Nielsen Media Research.

ADVERTISEMENT

Oscar organizers hoped that as a first-time host, Rock would help halt an overall trend of ratings erosion.

Despite a weeks long controversy over the comic's irreverent comments in magazine articles — and worry about whether he might spice Oscar night with the expletives familiar from his stand-up routines — Rock did not appear to have connected even with his core fan base of younger viewers. The ratings slipped 6% in the key viewer demographic of ages 18 to 49.

This year's nominated films failed to stoke much enthusiasm among viewers — none of the five films tapped in the best picture category has grossed more than $100 million. But the clutch of critical pans for Rock's performance might send the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences back to the drawing board next year.

"Rock wasn't the best choice for the gig; he was the best choice to get people talking about tuning in," Paul Brownfield wrote in The Times. Reviews in the Washington Post and USA Today were even more harsh.

Based on ratings, the Oscar broadcast captured 30.1% of viewers, a slight 1% improvement over last year's results, according to wire service reports. It was the highest ratings, based on share of the audience, since the 2000 awards broadcast.