Q1 is one of the busiest periods of the year for advertisers, packed with tentpole events that deliver large, highly engaged audiences. From the Super Bowl and Winter Olympics to the Golden Globes, March Madness, and the Oscars, brands are forced to make strategic decisions about where to allocate spend, or whether to invest across multiple moments. Among these, the Oscars presents a unique opportunity, blending cultural relevance with broad reach. Advertisers leaned in this year, with the ceremony selling out its ad inventory days ahead of the broadcast.
AdImpact estimation of viewership data found the Oscars averaged 15.6 million viewers this year, representing a 12% decline from last year and marking the first year-over-year drop since 2021. Even with the decline, the ceremony maintained its position as the leading awards show, drawing larger audiences than the Grammys (11.3 million) and Golden Globes (8.3 million), both of which also saw declines compared to last year.
This year’s Oscars attracted the largest streaming audience in the show’s history, with streaming platforms accounting for 46% of total viewership—up from 22% in 2024 and 36% in 2025. With the ceremony set to move to YouTube in 2029, the shift highlights the growing role of digital platforms in live event distribution and is likely to put additional pressure on linear viewership as more tentpole events, from sports to award shows, continue migrating to streaming.
Memorable Ads from the Night
Disney Cruise Lines:
Premiering during the Oscars, Disney Cruise Line captured hearts with a spot depicting a father and son on a late-night walk, highlighting a generational tradition.
Burger King
“What happened?” asks a Burger King ad that aired during the Oscars. Featuring a montage of negative reviews, the spot acknowledges past criticism before pivoting to a renewed focus on quality. Centered around its iconic “Have it your way” platform, the spot proclaims that the Burger King has been fired and now you, the customer, are now the new Burger King, with the ad ending with “There’s a new king, and it’s you.”
Turbo Tax
After delivering the longest Oscar acceptance speech last year, Adrien Brody returned to the stage, this time not just to present Best Actor, but to appear in a TurboTax ad. The brand leveraged the Oscars’ timing at the tail end of tax season, using the moment to remind viewers to file before the deadline.
Coinbase
After its viral return during the Super Bowl, Coinbase once again captured viewers’ attention during the Oscars with a spot that took a moment for audiences to recognize the brand behind it. A similar ad strategy Coinbase used in their Super Bowl ad.
Best Pictures Nominees’ Ad Campaigns
The battle for Best Picture didn’t just play out in Hollywood, it unfolded on TV screens across the country. AdImpact tracked more than 14K broadcast airings of trailers promoting this year’s Best Picture nominees.
F1 dominated the airwaves, accounting for more broadcast airings than all other nominees combined. Despite that overwhelming presence, the film ultimately took home just one award, Best Sound. One Battle After Another, the winner of Best Picture this year, had 1.5K broadcast airings for its trailers.
As awards season ramped up, studios leaned heavily into “For Your Consideration” campaigns to stay top-of-mind with voters. Marty Supreme and Hamnet led the way, with FYC spots making up nearly their entire broadcast advertising strategy.
While the Oscars continues to deliver one of the largest audiences among awards shows, the way viewers are watching is rapidly evolving. With streaming now accounting for nearly half of total viewership and a full transition to YouTube on the horizon, the future of tentpole advertising will be increasingly fragmented. For brands, success will depend not just on showing up, but on showing up across platforms in the moments that matter most.
