The TV ratings for the Oscars were the lowest in 9 years

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barry jenkins moonlight oscars

Lucy Nicholson/Reuters

Writer and Director Barry Jenkins of Moonlight holds up the Best Picture Oscar in front of host Jimmy Kimmel as he stands with Producer Adele Romanski.

While the biggest gaffe in the Oscars' history certainly makes Sunday's awards ceremony one of the most memorable, the ratings for Sunday's Jimmy Kimmel-hosted Oscars represent a nine-year low for the awards show.

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According to Nielsen ratings data, 32.9 million people watched the ABC broadcast. That's compared to the 34.4 million viewers who watched last year's broadcast. So total viewers dropped a pretty tiny 4%.

With that number, the Oscars broadcast is the most-watched entertainment awards show of the past year, including the last Golden Globes and the Grammys, which were watched by 20 million and 26.1 million viewers, respectively.

But when it comes to paying the bills, it's all about the group advertisers want most, adults younger than 50 years old. In that respect, Sunday's Oscars saw a big loss. It earned a 9.1 rating with that group. That represents the lowest rating for the awards show in nine years, according to Deadline. In fact, it's also the third-lowest rating for the Oscars this century.

For comparison, last year's Chris Rock-hosted Oscars earned a 10.5 rating in the advertiser-coveted 18- to 49-year-old demographic. That represents a 14% drop in ratings year-over-year.

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