The Oscars and the evolution of shared experiences
- Ruth Behr
- 4 hours ago
- 4 min read
There was a moment early in this year’s Oscars broadcast when Conan O’Brien joked that this might be the last human-hosted ceremony, with next year run by a "Waymo in a tuxedo".
It was funny because it sounds nonsensical (for now, *gulp*) but like most good jokes it revealed something deeper about the moment we are in. We are living in a time where shared spaces are becoming less common. Not gone, but fragmented. Increasingly shaped by individual feeds rather than collective moments. In marketing speak, “personalized”.
And yet, every year, the Oscars still manage to gather us. Not all of us, and certainly not in the same way they used to, but enough to remind us that shared experience still matters.
The new “everyone is watching” moment
There was a time when the Oscars represented a true cultural pause. In 1998, more than 50 million people tuned in to watch 'Titanic' dominate the night. That kind of collective attention created a sense that everyone was part of the same moment, reacting in real time, together.
That version of cultural unity has changed. In the 2025 ceremony the Oscars draw closer to 18 to 20 million viewers. Still meaningful, still significant, but reflective of a more fragmented media landscape where attention is divided across platforms and devices.
It is easy to interpret that shift as decline, to assume that fewer viewers means less relevance. But that framing misses what is actually happening. The question is not whether fewer people are watching in the same way. It is whether people are still finding ways to participate in the moment.
And they are.
The Oscars remain the most-watched primetime entertainment broadcast of the year, and recent analytics show that engagement has been driven in part by younger audiences engaging through digital and streaming channels. The audience has not so much disappeared but dispersed.
Generational differences, not generational loss
We often talk about younger audiences as if they have opted out of these cultural moments altogether. The reality is more nuanced and more encouraging for those of us who still care for large, cultural shared experiences.
Yes, younger generations are less likely to sit through a four-hour live broadcast from start to finish. If I had the same entertainment choices that my kids have today back in 1990 I don’t think I would have been as eager to tune in to see 'Driving Miss Daisy' get the golden statue either.
Younger generations are more likely to engage with the Oscars in pieces, through highlights, social clips, group chats, and second screens. They are still participating, just not in the traditional format.
At the same time, the core broadcast audience continues to skew older, with an average viewer age in the mid-50s. What we are seeing is not a disappearing audience, but a bifurcated one. Different generations are engaging differently around the same cultural anchor. That is not a problem to solve. It is a reality to design for.
What we actually remember
There is a simple test that brings this into focus. Ask someone who won Best Picture last year, and many will pause. The answer is often just out of reach.
But ask them who they watched the Oscars with and the response tends to come more easily. The friend they texted throughout the night. The family they sat with on the couch. The watch party that turned into a longer conversation.
That distinction matters because the value of shared experiences has never been about the content alone. It is about the context. The people. The feeling of being part of something at the same time, even if that “same time” now unfolds across multiple screens and spaces.
We remember the company. We remember the feeling. The details of the show itself often fade, but the connection endures.
One event, many rooms
The Oscars today do not unfold in a single, unified living room. They happen across millions of smaller environments, each one connected in its own way.
A group of friends gathered together in one city. A family catching highlights the next morning. A younger viewer following winners through short-form clips. A group chat reacting in real time without anyone necessarily watching the full broadcast.
This is what shared experience looks like now. It is distributed, but still collective.
Even the Academy is responding to this shift, exploring ways to extend the Oscars beyond traditional broadcast into streaming and digital ecosystems. The container is evolving to meet audiences where they are.
The role for brands and leaders
It is tempting to romanticize the past and wish for a return to the era when everyone watched the same thing at the same time. But that expectation is no longer realistic, and more importantly, it may not be necessary.
Shared experiences do not require uniform behavior. They require shared reference points. They require moments that people can connect to, react to, and talk about, even if they arrive there through different paths.
We should stop trying to recreate the past version of shared experiences and start embracing their current form. That means designing for participation, not just passive viewership. It means recognizing that engagement can be asynchronous and still meaningful.
It also requires a shift in mindset. People are not opting out of connection. They are finding it in new ways, across new platforms, and on their own terms. The opportunity is to meet them there without losing sight of what makes these moments valuable in the first place.
The Oscars spirit will live on
No, the entire population is not going to sit down together to watch who wins Best Picture the way they might have in 1973 (it was 'The Godfather'). That level of uniform attention belongs to a different era.
But the spirit of that moment has not disappeared. It has simply adapted. It shows up in group chats and highlight reels, in next-day conversations and shared reactions. It lives in the simple question, “Did you see that?” even if what we saw came through different screens at different times.
The Oscars endure not because they have resisted change, but because they have remained a moment worth gathering around.
Even if we are gathering differently. Even if a Waymo in a tuxedo is the host after all.
Comments