The Oscars was a night filled with talented musical performances, comical ad-libs and a lack of a host. The flow of this show, however, was what made it so exceptional: the ceremony felt special and smooth, and was very personable.

The Oscars was held on Feb. 24th, with, according to Time Magazine, around 29.6 thousand viewers tuning in to watch the awards be given out live. The ceremony is preceded by a red carpet attended by many celebrities and personalities.

Viewership however was lower than that of previous years. According to Time Magazine, the highest viewership of the Oscars ever was in 1988, when Titanic was named best picture. However, multiple factors contributed to this lower viewership:

Lack of a Host

Kevin Hart was selected to host the Oscars originally, but amidst homophobic comments made in 2010 and 2011 resurfacing, Hart stepped down from hosting the evening. According to Glamour Magazine, the last time the show went on without a host was 1998, which was considered “a low point in the show’s history.” However, the night still was entertaining, and flowed well. Maya Rudolph, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler delivered the witty opening remarks, and started the show off with a bang. Although the trio was presenting the award for Best Supporting Actress, they stepped up to the role of host and filled in the spot of the opening remarks. The group was a hit among the crowd, from not only telling all of the guests to look for a cheese sandwich from the iconic Fyre Festival, but also making fun of the powerhouse of Netflix in this year’s ceremony. Overall, the lack of a host may have led to a decrease in viewership, but it did not lead to a decrease in quality of the night.

Lack of Diversity in the Academy

According to The Los Angeles Times, 93 percent of the Academy in 2013 was white, and the Academy has not diversified much since then. In 2015, Viola Davis won an Emmy award for Outstanding Actress in the drama series How To Get Away With Murder, becoming the first woman of color to do so. The awards ceremony lacks the diversity it needs to gain high viewership, as not every viewer can have a role model to look up to.

Length of Ceremony

The entire ceremony, excluding red carpet appearances, was a three hours and 23 minutes. Although the ceremony had many musical performances and presentations, the ceremony felt long and tedious. Complete with long commercial breaks, it was difficult for viewers to stay engaged throughout the entire evening.

Although the night had its ups and its down, it was a memorable night in American culture that generations will remember.