Famous games industry analyst Benji-Sales compared the ratings of the latest Oscars and The Game Awards, showing the drastic difference in numbers. However, this comparison isn’t 100% accurate.
Geoff Keighley and Josef Fares at TGA 2017
According to Nielsen, the Oscars were watched by 9.85 million viewers on average this year. It’s down 58% from the previous year. For comparison, TGA set a new record with over 83 million livestreams last December, which was up 84% from the previous year.
The Oscars vs The Game Awards ratings
Oscars
2021: 9.8m
2020: 23.6m
2019: 29.6m
2018: 26.6m
2017: 33m
2016: 34.4m
2015: 37.2m
2014: 43.7mTGAs Livestreams
2020: 83m
2019 : 45.2m
2018: 26.2m
2017: 11.5m
2016: 3.8mThe shows are headed in completely opposite directions pic.twitter.com/OiyU5baEZb
— Benji-Sales (@BenjiSales) April 26, 2021
The difference is huge, and it definitely shows how the popularity of both awards is changing. The problem is that these numbers shouldn’t be compared directly. Here are the main reasons:
- Oscar ratings are based on the number of average viewers, while TGA counts the total number of viewers;
- Nielsen’s data is based on viewers of TV streams on ABC alone. It doesn’t take into account the numbers from different streaming platforms;
- The latest TGA was aired across 40 streaming networks around the world, including China, and the final ratings are all these numbers combined.
Benji himself also went on to clarify his first tweet, saying that he only wanted to point out the decline and rise of these two award shows. “It’s a stark difference and shows while one show is appealing more each year the other is dropping,” he wrote.
While the numbers are incomparable, they show the continued rise of TGA, which rose from 1.9 million livestreams in 2014 to 83 million in 2020. The Oscars, on the other hand, dropped from 43.7 million to 9.8 million viewers over the same period of time.
There are many factors of TGA’s success. The show relies on entertainment and world premieres from different developers and publishers across the world. On top of that, video games are just getting more popular every year.