Hong Kong broadcaster drops Academy Awards telecast after 52 years, says ‘commercial decision’ unrelated to Beijing displeasure over nominees
- The Oscars had aired exclusively on TVB’s English-language channel Pearl since 1969; this year’s nominees include a documentary short about the Hong Kong protests and a director who drew the wrath of Chinese netizens
- Beijing had reportedly told mainland media outlets to either boycott or downplay the film awards ceremony
The home of Hong Kong’s Academy Awards telecast for more than 50 years will not be broadcasting this year’s Oscars amid reported calls by Beijing for mainland media to either boycott or downplay the glitzy celebration of the global film industry.
But Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB), which has aired the show on its English-language channel Pearl, has maintained the decision was a “purely commercial” one, saying it simply chose not to acquire the broadcasting rights this year.
As of Monday evening, representatives of RTHK, Viu TV, Now TV, i-Cable and Open TV said they had not stepped in to acquire local broadcast rights for this year’s Oscars, set to air on April 26 at 8am local time.
Zhao was nominated in the best director category for the US-based drama Nomadland.
In a reply to the Post, a TVB spokesman said: “It was purely a commercial decision that we decided not to pursue the Oscars this year.”
According to the broadcaster’s annual reports, Pearl had been “bringing the world’s most glamorous Hollywood event, the Oscars” to Hongkongers since the channel’s launch in 1969.