This Week in TV News: Oscars Ratings Improve and Nike Dreams Crazier

This week, we’re talking about Oscars viewership, Nike’s latest creative and addressable TV ad spend.

The Oscars gets more viewers. After a record low in viewership last year, the televised awards ceremony drew 29.6 million viewers, a 12% increase over 2018’s 26.5 million viewers. The show didn’t have a host, which probably accounted for a faster clip – this year’s ceremony ran about an hour shorter than last year. (Fortune)

Nike dreams crazier. During the Oscars, Nike premiered an ad narrated by Serena Williams, with video clips featuring Simone Biles, Ibtihaj Muhammad, Chloe Kim and more. Williams posted the ad on her Instagram account, captioning it, “If they think your dreams are crazy, show them what crazy dreams can do.” It’s a follow-up to “Dream Crazy,” the viral ad with Colin Kaepernick. (Washington Post)

Netflix promotes an inclusion message. The streaming service came out with an ad called “Make Room,” featuring actor Uzo Aduba, comedian Hannah Gadsby and Mexican actor Yalitza Aparicio. Mira Kaddoura, executive creative director of Red & Co, the agency behind the brand campaign and its strategy, said the aim was to make a case for and tell the story of “the opportunity that diversity offers all of us when we make creative and economic space for talented artists, actors, writers, comedians, producers, directors and composers who don’t have a guaranteed seat at the table.” See the ad on Adweek.

Addressable TV ramps up, eMarketer says. About $2.5 billion will be spent on addressable TV ads this year in the U.S., accounting for 3.7% of total TV ad spend, according to an eMarketer report. Total U.S. addressable TV spend is expected to grow to $3.37 billion and overall TV ad spend is expected to rise .5% in 2020. (eMarketer)

See last week’s TV trends.