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| Photo courtesy AP |
SAN NARCISO, Calif. (
Bennington Vale Evening Transcript) -- Sunday night marked the debut of multi-faceted animator, voice actor and crooner Seth MacFarlane as host of Hollywood's most prestigious event, the Academy Awards. In an evening that famously parades the elite of the film industry's winners and losers, MacFarlane was counted among the victors, according to Nielsen ratings for the Oscars telecast. An average of 40.3 million viewers tuned in to watch the ceremony. The figures represented a modest two-percent increase from last year, when Billy Crystal returned to host, but the highest numbers since 2010. Nielsen analysts attributed the bump to an 11-percent increase among viewers 18 to 49, the demographic most important to advertisers -- and most likely to consider themselves fans of MacFarlane's work. Despite the ratings, however, criticism of MacFarlane was widespread. His efforts were blasted as inappropriate, offensive, sexist and antagonistic. On Monday, a spokesperson for Academy President Hawk Koch apologized and told dejected fans, "We had no idea Seth MacFarlane would act like Seth MacFarlane. We are deeply sorry to all those offended by Mr. MacFarlane's inappropriate Seth MacFarlane humor."
