The Oscars Are a Week Away, but How Many Will Watch? TV ratings for awards shows have been in free fall, especially during the pandemic, and Hollywood doesn’t want the viewing public to toss its premier showcase into the entertainment dustbin. At last year’s Oscars, stars like Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt were seated in the front row.Credit...Richard Harbaugh/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images April 18, 2021, 3:00 a.m. ET LOS ANGELES — Neither intimate looks into stars’ living rooms nor scantily clad pop stars performing provocative hits have been able to stop audiences from tuning out award shows this year. The ratings for the Grammys were down by 53 percent. The Golden Globes plummeted by more than 60.