The more that I think about Chris Rock’s performance as host of the Oscars, the more I think that he did not do well. I’m saying that as someone who generally likes/loves Chris Rock. I’m saying that as someone who thinks he’s one of the sharpest comedians and social critics in the world. I’m saying that as someone who really wanted to see him go hard and burn the place down as host. But his opening monologue was confusing and at times offensive. The “joke” with the Asian children was even more awful 24 hours later. Rock just seemed off his game entirely, and the whole Oscar telecast suffered from janky, helter skelter transitions and pacing. All in all, one of the worst Oscar telecasts of the past five years or so. But still, I thought with all of the #OscarsSoWhite drama, people would be tuning in to see what Rock had to say. Not so much! Apparently, this year’s Oscars had the worst ratings in seven years.

Early ratings suggest the Oscars have fallen yet again. Nielsen’s preliminary number have the 88th annual Academy Awards at a 23.1 household rating among major markets and a 37 share, dipping slightly from last year. If the numbers hold up in the afternoon nationals, this will put Sunday’s Oscar telecast at a seven-year-low, at least.

The drop is despite host Chris Rock earning plenty of praise for his performance on Sunday night, and some considerable suspense surrounding the ceremony as the industry wondered how the comic would address the lack of diversity in the acting categories. Last year’s host was Neil Patrick Harris and that telecast had fallen to a six-year low.

Oscar viewership tends to hinge on the popularity of the most-honored movies, and insiders predicted a possible ratings drop given a heavy focus on indie titles like best picture winner Spotlight, along with films such as Room, The Danish Girl, and Brooklyn (though there were some audience favorites in the mix too, like Mad Max: Fury Road, which won six Oscars, and The Revenant, which scored three). The biggest Oscar telecast in the last decade was in 2005, when Million Dollar Baby took the top prize.

[From EW]

It’s one of the quirks of Oscar viewership that some of the most poorly-rated telecasts are often the most climactic or shocking, and the Oscar telecasts with the highest ratings are the ones where one film is dominating all the categories, or everyone knows who will win. I thought people would tune in to see what Mad Max and The Revenant would pick up, but I guess not. Maybe the #OscarsSoWhite drama did do some damage, and people just tuned out because what’s the point in watching the parade of white folks congratulating themselves?

My advice for the Oscar producers: beg Ellen to come back as host (for real), then cut out some of the dead weight from the telecast.

Photos courtesy of WENN, Getty.