Who needs a host?

For the first time in five years, the Oscars broadcast had growth in viewership.

Now for the not-so-great news: While the Academy Awards show on Sunday, which honored “Green Book” for best picture, had 29.6 million viewers, a 12 percent increase from last year, it still attracted the second-lowest viewership since Nielsen started keeping track of the ratings in 1974.

At least for now, the Oscars has managed to snap its losing streak.

Before the broadcast, there was plenty of concern within ABC and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences that the Oscars had not yet hit rock bottom. Last year’s ceremony, hosted by ABC’s own Jimmy Kimmel, had 26.5 million viewers, a 19 percent drop from 2017 and well below the 43.7 million viewers who had tuned in as recently as 2014.

The 2018 number was a record low, beating out the previous least-watched Oscars, the 2008 broadcast. A total of 32 million watched that hastily organized ceremony, which came together days after the conclusion of the Writers Guild of America’s strike.

The ceremony on Sunday, which went without a host for the first time in 30 years, was warmly received by critics. ABC had promised a brisk ceremony, and for the most part, that’s what it delivered.