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Oscar joins the family

MIT gives 'Good Will' another Oscar

'Titanic' rises
Blockbuster gets record-tying 11 Oscars

Local boys make good
A star-kissed time for Matt and Ben and all Will's gang

Television review
Even Crystal's act can't save tiresome telecast

At the L Street
Tavern overflows
with pride

Boston mentioned
Tearful Williams sends Southie his regards

Rating numbers
Ratings indicate ABC aired the most-watched Oscar telecast ever

Photos

Photo gallery of the awards ceremony

Photo gallery of red carpet arrivals

'Good Will' watching
Matt Damon's family heads to Oscars

On Oscar night, LA dresses up to go out

Globe reviews of the 5 best-picture nominees

  • As Good as it Gets
  • The Full Monty
  • Good Will Hunting
  • L.A. Confidential
  • Titanic

    Matt Damon's Hollywood fantasy come true

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    Official Oscar site
    www.oscars.com
    - From www.abc.com

    Official Academy site
    www.oscars.org

    History
    Oscars by category
    - From the Internet Movie Database


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  • The Boston Globe OnlineBoston.com Boston Globe Online / Living | Arts
    Oscar
    70th Annual Academy Awards
    Oscar

    Ratings indicate ABC aired the most-watched Oscar telecast of all time

    Associated Press, 03/24/98

    NEW YORK - It was a titanic night for ABC, too.

    With an estimated 87 million people in the United States tuning in to all or some of the Academy Awards Monday night, ABC said today it was the most-watched Oscar telecast of all time in the United States.

    ''That's an astonishing number,'' ABC spokeswoman Susan Sewell said.

    The show scored a 40.5 rating and 60 share in Nielsen Media Research's overnight measurement from 38 major markets. Those numbers are expected to drop slightly when ratings for the full country become available late in the afternoon. ABC estimates that the final numbers will still be 22 percent higher than last year.

    It is expected to be the top Oscar telecast in ratings since 1983, when ''Gandhi'' was named best picture. Since there are more television homes now than in 1983, the number of people watching is higher.

    The extraordinary interest in ''Titanic,'' which won 11 Oscars including best picture, the popularity of other nominated movies and of host Billy Crystal all played a role in the big ratings, ABC said.

    The Oscars still don't match the Super Bowl as a television event. An estimated 133 million people watched the Denver Broncos beat the Green Bay Packers in January.

    For the national ratings, a point represents 980,000 households or 1 percent of the nation's estimated 98 million TV homes. Share is the percentage of in-use televisions tuned to a given show.


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