More than 19.5 million people tuned in to watch the Oscars on Sunday — a four-year high, according to Nielsen.

Why it matters: Ratings for the Oscars — and awards shows broadly — have increased steadily from pandemic-era lows. But they are still down significantly from pre-streaming era highs.

Driving the news: This year's show saw Christopher Nolan's biographical thriller "Oppenheimer" take home the award for best picture, bucking a recent trend of indie films without much consumer appeal winning the top prize.

• Despite being nominated for eight awards, "Barbie" was largely shut out, winning just one trophy for best song.
• But strong performances, such as Ryan Gosling's reenactment of the movie's comical tune "I'm Just Ken," helped keep the ceremony light and viewer-friendly.
• ABC also credited an earlier start time — 7pm ET instead of 8pm — for the ratings boost.

Between the lines: Big Tech firms were also mostly shut out Sunday night.

• Netflix won just one award despite being nominated for 19 prizes — more than any other studio this year.
• Apple came up empty-handed after being nominated for 13 awards.

Zoom in: Except for a few political jokes and some celebrity activism around the Israel-Hamas and Russia-Ukraine wars, this year's Oscars marked the continued return to normalcy after becoming mired in politics during the pandemic.

The big picture: Awards show ratings have begun to rebound from their pandemic-era lows.

• The Golden Globes drew 10 million viewers in January, up 50% from 2023.
• The Oscars and The Grammys rose 8% and 30% year over year, respectively, in 2023.
• Tony Award viewership saw a modest boost last year compared to 2022, but remains low.

Yes, but: The Emmys saw all-time low ratings in January after being postponed from September due to the writers and actors strikes.

Go deeper: The Oscars fight for relevance in the streaming era

Editor's note: This article has been corrected to reflect that Netflix had 19 nominations at this year's Oscars (not 18) and that the Golden Globes aired in January (not in February).