The numbers are in, and this year’s Academy Awards broadcast scored lower with viewers than last year. “Like the Golden Globes and Grammys before it, this year’s Academy Awards broadcast, on ABC, was down in total viewers from a year ago. The program drew an average audience of 41.5 million viewers, versus the 43.5 million who watched last year. That was better than in 2003, when the start of the Iraq war a few days before the ceremony helped push Oscar ratings to their lowest in nearly 30 years. This year’s show drew almost 8.5 million more viewers than that broadcast.”