Oscar ratings up 3% with 40.3 mn viewers

MUMBAI: A new host for the Oscar Awards Seth MacFarlane brought cheer for US broadcaster ABC.

The ratings were up by 20 per cent over last year in the 18-49 demo which advertisers covet. It was up by three per cent in terms of overall viewers, with 40.3 million.

The ratings were the best for Oscar since 2010. There were a lot of musical numbers including one about actresses? breasts being exposed in films.

The Academy said, "If the Oscars are about anything, they?re about creative freedom. We think the show?s producers, Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, and host Seth MacFarlane, did a great job, and we hope our worldwide audience found the show entertaining."