Audiences for the Oscars, Grammys and Emmys are in free fall – so do award shows need to change?
Is it a case of #Oscarstoolong, is the awards show format in need of refreshing, or are falling audiences for them on TV a logical consequence of the growth of streaming, pundits wonder
The Oscars, Grammys and Emmys have for decades served as staples of US television award ceremonies that kick off the year and shape the pop culture conversation.
But ratings are in free fall, for many possible reasons – audiences now have plentiful other options outside of traditional broadcasts and the hours-long award shows may be too much of a slog for viewers, who could also be put off by the growing politicisation of the awards.
Nielsen, which has been tracking the shows’ audiences since 1974, has never seen fewer viewers for the Oscars, the most glittering of the galas, than this year.
Some 26.5 million people in the United States watched the Oscars last week, a drop of nearly 20 per cent from just a year earlier.
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The political right wing in the United States, led by President Donald Trump, has been quick to gloat at the declining audience, seeing it as evidence that the American heartland is rejecting a cultural elitism represented by the entertainment industry.
Trump was vigorously mocked at last year’s awards shows, while the latest Oscars celebrated women’s empowerment and the #MeToo movement in the wake of abuse scandals in Hollywood’s ranks.