Even the mighty Oscars could not avoid the ratings curse that has afflicted every TV awards show in the era of Covid-19.

According to early Nielsen data, ABC’s telecast of the host-less Academy Awards on Sunday night averaged 9.9 million total viewers and a 1.9 rating in the coveted 18-49 demographic  — both record lows.

Those numbers represent sharp declines — 58 and 64 percent — from last year’s Oscar ceremony (23.6 million/5.3 rating), which at the time were low marks.

To add insult to injury, many critics and viewers are slamming ABC’s telecast, which was held at Union Station in Los Angeles. A poll of viewers on tvline.com, gave the show a grade of “F.”

Of course, the Oscars are not at all alone in 2021 ratings wreckage.

This year’s Grammy Awards on CBS attracted just 8.8 million viewers across multiple platforms, down by a full 10 million from a year ago. And the Golden Globes on NBC experienced a 63 percent decline in total viewers from 2020, plunging from 18.4 million to a mere 6.9 million. The Academy of Country Music Awards earlier this month also hit a new low with just under 6.3 million viewers.

As for production value alone, Sunday’s Oscars succeeded on some levels with its scaled-down, unconventional route. But it also was hurt by long-winded speeches during the early going, a stunning lack of clips of featured nominees and an absence of genuinely entertaining moments, unless you count Glenn Close doing “Da Butt.”

And then came the anti-climatic ending, with an AWOL Anthony Hopkins winning the best actor prize over the late Chadwick Boseman, a sentimental favorite.