Why did the ‘Last of Us’ finale air during the Oscars?

Another Sunday means another infinitely gripping and equally heartbreaking episode of The Last of Us, and with this week’s entry boasting the very special distinction of being the season finale, anticipation from the audience will no doubt be at an all-time high.

But that’s not the only attention magnet taking up space this evening; along with being the season finale, this episode of The Last of Us has the unenviable challenge of competing with the 95th Academy Awards for viewership. Whether HBO Max’s sci-fi darling will be able to pull its usual numbers while sharing a slot with perhaps the highest-profile night in entertainment remains to be seen, but if one were to cast their mind back to the fifth episode, they may scratch their heads at the gamble that the streaming service has taken tonight.

Indeed, this isn’t the first time that The Last of Us has had to go time slot-to-time slot with a major event; back when we were awaiting the arrival of “Endure and Survive,” the fifth and arguably most devastating episode of The Last of Us, HBO Max made the decision to move its air date to Friday, Feb. 10, two days before its scheduled release date of Feb. 12.

And why did HBO Max do this? To avoid competition with Super Bowl LVII, which took place that evening.

It may seem strange that HBO Max chose to sift their release schedule around with respect to the Super Bowl, only to not do the same for the Oscars, but a quick glance at the numbers can clear that question up.

Last year’s Oscars, which was, of course, rife with audience-worthy drama, only garnered 16.6 million viewers in total, with the highest ever viewership for the competition being 57 million viewers for the 70th Academy Awards in 1998.

Compare that to the 113.1 million viewers that the Super Bowl drew earlier this year, which are pretty run-of-the-mill numbers as far as the last decade is concerned, and it becomes apparent why the Super Bowl was given a bit more respect from The Last of Us.

Airing against any major competition involves risk, to be sure, but it’s safe to chalk up The Last of Us’ bravery as the Oscars simply not having the numbers to make HBO Max consider making special changes to their schedule. Sorry, Jimmy Kimmel, but you’re no Rihanna concert/pregnancy announcement.