It's Javier Bardem!

TV audience numbers have declined over the past decade as viewing choices expand and the audience splinters.

The upcoming Academy Awards reflects that trend, with current audience levels 25 percent less than they were 10 years ago, according to TNS Media Intelligence, MarketingCharts reports.

Now that the writers strike is over, advertisers can capitalize on prime viewing time during the February 24 Academy Awards — often referred to as "the Super Bowl for women" (though the actual Super Bowl fared better in household percentage ratings):

Ad rates for the Oscars increased 75 percent over the past decade, reaching $1.67 million in 2007 for a :30 second spot, or about 35 percent less than the cost of the same spot during the Super Bowl.

Overall, marketers spent $651 million for ad time during the Academy Awards from 1998 to 2007, and total ad spend for 2007 ($80 million) is nearly double the amount spent in 1998.

Part of the appeal of the Academy Awards is the lack of ad clutter: Per hour…

• Typical prime time network programming offers 14-15 minutes.
• The Super Bowl offers 10.5-12.0 minutes.
• The Academy Awards offers 9-10 minutes - and recently dropping to even lower levels: 8.05 minutes in 2007.

The Academy Awards, like the Super Bowl, has traditionally been dominated by blue-chip advertisers. The top 3 advertisers from 1998 to 2007 were General Motors ($97.1 million), Pepsi co ($60.7 million), and American Express ($60.5 million).

Other big advertisers and ad spend in millions:

• JC Penney - $52.8
• L'Oreal - $29
• McDonalds - $28.8
• Mastercard - $27.6
• Coca-Cola - $24.6

Those 8 companies accounted for over 60 percent of the total amount, with aggregate spending of $381.2 million during the past 10 shows.

Retention for the Academy Awards is high: 75 percent of the yearly spend in the telecast has come from advertisers who bought time the previous year. (The Super Bowl retention rate is 63 percent.)

Overlap between the two events is also high. In 5 years, 21-41 percent of advertisers bought time in both events.

TNS notes there is slightly less overlap during Winter Olympic years, as many big advertisers choose this option and forgo one of the other two events.