Academy Awards audience down 16 percent - the lowest ratings in six years

OPINION:

Viewer turnout was tepid for the 87th Academy Awards despite the fact that host Neil Patrick Harris sang, joked and shed his clothes as a surprise side show. The early ratings, in fact, were the lowest in six years. Nielsen reports that 36.6 million viewers tuned in to see the big, glittery doings on Sunday night. Last year, 43.7 million did the same - which marks a substantial 16 percent drop.

The only recent rival to the dubious designation are the 2009 awards, when 36.3 million viewers tuned in.

“Maybe if everybody on the Oscars stage had stripped down to their underwear, the ratings might have gone up,” observed Entertainment Weekly analyst James Hibbard.