The Oscars’ Terrible Idea
Adding a “popular film” category and cutting technical awards to squeeze the ceremony into a three-hour time slot will only dilute the Academy’s brand.
In March, some 26.5 million people tuned in to watch the 2018 Academy Awards—a record low for a ceremony that’s been losing viewers lately. In 2017, nearly 33 million people watched the Oscars, again down from 34.4 million the year before. There’s another popular, once-a-year TV event that’s recently seen a decline in ratings: the Super Bowl. Downward ratings trends are clear across the board for broadcast television, simply because broadcast television is a dying medium; more viewers, especially young viewers, are watching programs like the Oscars and the Super Bowl online.
But according to ABC, the network that broadcasts the Oscars, the problem isn’t
