Here's more left wing babble that misses the point.
https://www.azcentral.com/story/entertainment/media/2018/03/05/oscars-academy-award-ratings-tumble-but-dont-blame-politics-entirely/396872002/First, people just don’t gather for TV shows — even TV events — the way they used to. Ratings for the Winter Olympics were down. Are those the wrong politics? Aren’t we rooting for the USA?Ratings for the Super Bowl were down. And it wasn’t because people didn’t want to see players there taking a knee during the national anthem. Because the players didn’t.By far the biggest factor in Academy Awards ratings is how many people have seen the nominees for best picture. And not many saw this year’s bunch. Nearly 100% wrong on all points.
1) Ratings for the Olympics were down. Not 20% like the Oscars down, but down. It had nothing to do with "not rooting for the USA." I didn't watch a single second of the Olympics for a variety of reasons. First, the face of the whole thing, the abhorrent Lindsey Vonn, politicized the event with her anti-Trump ranting. Stupid whore. Second, there just weren't any compelling stories or figures. Third, had I had any desire to watch it was quickly quelled by the butchery of coverage from NBC. From what I read, they turned the broadcast into a celebration of a lifestyle with which I am not comfortable. Was it all political? No, but 75% of my disinterest was rooted in the political and cultural.
2) Ratings for the Superbowl were down. The author of this piece completely misses the point here because for me (and many others) it wasn't about whether the players would take a knee in that specific event or not, it was my reaction to their behavior over the season as a whole. If you don't believe the decline in viewership was directly related to the ridiculous political stances and proclamations of the pampered players, then you're not paying attention.
3) Oscar viewership was down. Not because nobody's seen most of the nominated films because that's typically the case. Every year I look at the Oscar list (and I go to a lot of movies) and I typically have seen only one or two. The reason for the decline is two-fold. First, the stance Hollywood has taken politically is against everything a majority of us believe in. Dating all the way back to the MASH years, the industry has pushed an ever-increasingly leftist social agenda. It's finally reached critical mass. Second, the self-congratulation has gotten ridiculous. When you're celebrating a damn fish-sex movie, you've lost the audience.