ABC’s telecast of the Oscars Sunday night didn’t get great reviews, but the ratings partly made up for it: the show attracted 40.3 million viewers, the most for any entertainment show on television in three years. Even more importantly for ABC, the audience surged among the viewers the network most wants to reach, viewers between the ages of 18 and 49.
Seth MacFarlane was brought in as host specifically because of his appeal to younger viewers. And whether he was primarily responsible â€" or whether it was the roster of more popular films â€" the show eclipsed its rating in the 18-49 category by 11 per cent over a year ago, growing to a 13 rating from an 11.7.
The total audience for the show was up 3 percent from the 39.3 million who watched in 2012
