This year's Oscars drew 36.3 million viewers, a 13-per-cent increase over last year's show, according to figures released Monday by Nielsen Media Research, dpa reported.
The ratings boost represented a victory for Disney's ABC network, which piqued interest in the days before the show by promising a long list of surprises. The increased viewership came in a year when there were hardly any blockbuster movies among the leading nominees.
The viewership figures made the Oscars the most watched entertainment show of the year, but the numbers were still well off from the 39 million viewers who watched in 2006, or the record 55 million who tuned in when Titanic swept 11 awards in 1988.
Earlier this year, an audience of almost 15 million people tuned in to watch the Golden Globe Awards.