Good news for movie buffs based on the East Coast: The 96th Academy Awards, which ABC will broadcast on Sunday, March 10, 2024, will start earlier than any prior edition, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced Thursday.
Rather than starting at 5 p.m. PDT / 8 p.m. EDT, as has been the case in recent years, the Oscars ceremony will begin at 4 p.m. PDT / 7 p.m. EDT, following a half-hour preshow. The telecast’s targeted — but rarely met — length is three to three and a half hours.
Sources tell The Hollywood Reporter that the decision was driven by a desire to ensure that the show wraps within primetime hours on the East Coast. In years past, there has been a dropoff in viewership as the evening progressed, particularly on the earlier coast, given that most people have to get up for work the following morning.
Immediately following the Oscars, which will be hosted for the fourth time by ABC’s late night staple Jimmy Kimmel, the alphabet network will air a new episode of its hit comedy series Abbott Elementary, a scheduling decision that could benefit the ratings of both offerings.
The 95th Oscars, which ABC broadcast on Sunday, March 12, 2023 (and Kimmel also hosted), was the highest-rated in three years, averaging 18.76 million viewers and a 4.03 rating among adults 18-49 on ABC, according to time zone-adjusted fast national ratings from Nielsen (whose numbers include out-of-home viewing).
