Advertisers will pay a record $1.7 million for every 30-second spot. “The show is one of the increasingly few events with enough built-in suspense for most viewers to watch in real time, rather than digitally record the show so they can zip past the ads. That’s one reason advertisers are willing to pay an Oscar record price for a 30-second spot, an uptick from last year’s $1.6 million, despite a droop in the show’s ratings in recent years.”