MUMBAI: A new host for the Oscar Awards Seth MacFarlane brought cheer for US broadcaster ABC.

The ratings were up by 20 per cent over last year in the 18-49 demo which advertisers covet. It was up by three per cent in terms of overall viewers, with 40.3 million.

The ratings were the best for Oscar since 2010. There were a lot of musical numbers including one about actresses? breasts being exposed in films.

The Academy said, "If the Oscars are about anything, they?re about creative freedom. We think the show?s producers, Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, and host Seth MacFarlane, did a great job, and we hope our worldwide audience found the show entertaining."

MUMBAI: Star India?s English movie channel Star Movies will air the Oscar Awards live on 25 February at 6 am with a repeat at 8 pm. The broadcaster will be celebrating this month as the month of the Oscars.

There will be a programming initiative, ?Hollywood Premiere Oscar Special?, as the channel premieres four Oscar nominated titles - ?The Artist?, ?The Descendants?, ?The Kids are Alright? and ?War Horse?, every Saturday night at 9 pm.

There is also a month long ?Oscar Fever? festival where every night at 7 pm films that won or were nominated for Oscar Awards air like ?Titanic?, ?Black Swan?, ?Brokeback Mountain?, ?127 Hours? and ?Jaws?.

Commenting on the Oscars, Star India Senior Vice-President English Programming Rasika Tyagi says, "Star Movies has been the Home Of The Oscars in India, for over a decade. In addition to telecasting the event live on 25th February, our Hollywood Premieres slot will showcase Oscar winning titles like The Artist, The Descendants and War Horse every Saturday night at 9 pm though February. Star Movies? viewers can also watch 30 Oscar winning films on weekdays at 7 pm with our Oscar Fever festival."

To take the Oscar Award Ceremony beyond the event itself, the broadcaster has launched an Oscar Microsite that provides all that is needed to know about Oscar nominees and buzz around the globe. Along with the microsite the channel is running a Predict and Win contest that provides the participant an opportunity to visit the Oscars Live in Los Angeles next year.