Yes, I was going to say this that they were like the super bowl but I forgot, however the ratings of the last 20 years showed people still watched even when films were not LOTR and Gladiator. There is part of some prestigiousness the Oscars may have lost over the years that many dont care enough to watch anymore.
the Oscars feels more like the People's Choice Awards to many people now, than something with the name that calls itself The Academy of motions of arts and sciences,....you know Academic, meaning, something intellectual, extremely artistic, deep, objective thinking. Perhaps the oscars should take their own narrative back of why they once mattered.