Disney Taps Conan O’Brien to Host Oscars amid Ratings Crash

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Late-night comedy show host Conan O’Brien will front the next Academy Awards a year after comedian Jimmy Kimmel was tapped for the second time to host the annual show.

“America demanded it and now it’s happening: Taco Bell’s new Cheesy Chalupa Supreme. In other news, I’m hosting the Oscars,” O’Brien said in a statement Friday.

It will be his first time as Oscar host, but he’s fronted other high-profile awards shows, like the Emmy Awards in 2002 and 2006 and the White House Correspondents’ dinner in 1995 and 2013.

The Oscars will air live on ABC on March 2.

AP reports O’Brien joins the list of Oscar hosts that includes Johnny Carson, Billy Crystal, David Letterman, Whoopi Goldberg, Chris Rock, Jon Stewart, Hugh Jackman and Neil Patrick Harris.

“He joins an iconic roster of comedy greats who have served in this role, and we are so lucky to have him center stage for the Oscars,” said Craig Erwich, president, Disney Television Group.

As glittering as that past lineup may be claimed to be, the Academy Awards are desperately in need of a renewed presence judging by crashing viewing numbers.

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Breitbart News has noted via John Nolte that with only 19.5 million viewers, the most recent Academy Awards bombed with the fourth-lowest viewership in Oscar history.

He wrote, “facts are facts, and a mere ten years ago, in 2014, the Oscar telecast drew 43.7 million viewers. Hell, five years ago, in 2019, 30 million tuned in.

“But by all means, celebrate that 19.5 million also of interest is the fact Oscar is losing younger viewers. And again, here’s how the entertainment media sycophants spin it:

The telecast of the 96th Academy Awards marked a four-year high in total viewers, including a 4% increase compared to the 18.8 million who tuned into the Sunday night telecast in 2023. Last year’s broadcast saw a 13% uptick in total viewership compared to the 16.7 million viewers the awards show nabbed in 2022. This year’s show also nabbed a 3.81 rating among adults 18-49.

O’Brien left late-night television in 2021 and has since led the podcast “Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend,” and a spinoff travel show for the Max streaming service called “Conan O’Brien Must Go.”