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Pretty much everyone (43 million) watched the Oscars

The initial ratings for the 86th Annual Academy Awards are in and—wow—some ABC executives are probably high-fiving (or fist bumping, because they probably still think that that's a thing). According to Nielson's "fast national" numbers the broadcast was seen by some 43 million people, up a full six percent from last year and good for the strongest Oscars ratings in a decade.

Among people under 50, the ratings took a bit of a dip, but that's hardly an issue for ABC when they're looking at the best Oscars numbers in 10 years.

While the numbers were nothing but positive for ABC, it's worth noting how the Oscars — like most big TV events — have declined over the years. Sunday's show was watched by 37 percent of the homes watching TV last night. By comparison, in the 1970s, the Oscars regularly pulled in over 70 percent of TV homes. As late as 1983, the Oscars could still command a 59 share with a snoozer of a film such as Gandhi, while in the 1990s, shares in the mid- to upper-40s were the norm. But thanks to DVRs and exploding viewing options, the Academy Awards hasn't broken the 40 share mark since 2004.

Also, Jimmy Kimmel posted his biggest numbers ever. For prime time or late night. A full 7 million people watched his special program last night, which featured some hilarious mock trailers for YouTube Hall of Fame clips as Hollywood blockbusters. [

» READ MORE: Vulture

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