Ain't that hot

First-time Academy Awards host, Neil Patrick Harris, is partly blamed for the show's poor TV ratings. Michael Thurston reports in Los Angeles. Michael Thurston

TV ratings for the Oscars' US broadcast fell 16 percent from last year, according to figures published on Monday, amid lukewarm reviews and criticism for its first-time host Neil Patrick Harris.

Sunday night's show averaged 36.6 million viewers, down from 43.7 million in 2014, according to Nielsen ratings cited by industry journal Variety, which noted that the total viewer count was the lowest in six years.