It's a hard sell: Watch these total strangers, some of whom you haven't heard of, accept awards (maybe over Zoom) for movies that you probably haven't seen.
It's likely why the Oscars made in-person attendance at this year's ceremony mandatory, either in Los Angeles or London, to ensure movie-lovers could see their favorite stars for a few hours. However, the Academy's attempt to restore a sense of normalcy with its very restricted audience resulted in an atmosphere comparable to an awkward high school disco.
Despite the Academy's best efforts, viewership fell off a cliff. It was the crashing nosedive that was preceded by a freefall in Oscars' viewership over the past seven years.
While 43.7 million people watched the Academy Awards in 2014, only 9.85 million watched this year. It's a dramatic 58% decrease from last year's ceremony, which saw 23.6 million viewers.
There's more than one reason why people are tuning out.
The Oscars' London venue looked empty and bare. AP Photo / Alberto Pezzali, Pool
Young audiences have better things to watch
To be clear, it's not just the Oscars that are having trouble retaining audiences. They are merely the standard by which all awards shows are measured, and none in the mainstream entertainment sphere are covering themselves in glory.
This year's BAFTAs, for example, registered its lowest-ever ratings with just 1.9 million viewers tuning in, a 12-year low. On the night, more people watched "Tipping Point," a British quiz show that incorporates a giant coin pusher.
The pandemic is the obvious scapegoat to blame for this rapidly diminishing audience.
Zoom fatigue is real and the last thing most people want to do is add another one they can't participate in to their agendas. Even though the Oscars were not held over Zoom (praise be), the red carpet was dramatically changed - a major draw for viewers - and there was barely a live audience, which sucked the energy out of the room.
Anthony Hopkins won best actor for his turn in "The Father." Sean Gleason/Sony Pictures Classics
The pandemic also obliterated the planned movie slate with almost every major blockbuster pushed further and further back into the depths of 2021 or early 2022. This meant that the nominees this year were less mainstream, more arthouse, and had far fewer viewers.
I have still not met anyone who has watched "The Father," for which Anthony Hopkins gratefully accepted best actor, but didn't even attend the ceremony.
Unfortunately, the pandemic is not solely to blame.
Part of it has to do with the way audiences are consuming media nowadays - on-demand, in bite-sized, easily digestible chunks rather than sprawling four-hour live shows with innumerable ad breaks. Viewers know that the highlights - be they performances, speeches, gaffes, or celebrity interactions - will be there waiting for them on YouTube or on other social media platforms the following morning.
Variety noted last year that the median age of awards shows viewers had blown past 50 years old. Gone are the days when people would watch something on network TV because there was nothing else on. Now thanks to streamers, there is always something else on.
Corona beer used its Oscars ad time to replug its "La Via Mas Fina" campaign, starring Snoop Dogg. Grupo Modelo
The Oscars were a raving success - with advertisers
Surely, awards shows will be scrambling to overhaul their formats in pursuit of this rapidly fleeing audience. But not necessarily.
Despite disastrous ratings, the Oscars did land with one audience: advertisers.
A few days before the ceremony, The New York Times reported that ABC had sold out its advertising inventory for the Academy Awards with companies like Corona, Rolex, and Google paying an estimated $2 million for each 30-second spot, according to media buyers.
Despite ratings hitting all-time lows, there are now even fewer places where advertisers can access 10 million people in one place. Live sports events offer the only real competition. Because of this, ABC was able to keep its ad rates sky-high.
The Oscars may be limping, but it is still a cash cow for networks. This Axios chart shows the startling, opposite correlation between waning audiences and swelling ad prices.
According to Kantar Media, the Oscars creates more ad revenue for ABC than any other day in the year: Sponsors spent $129 million to wedge their ads between Oscar presentations last year.
This means that despite a decline in ratings, networks will be clutching awards shows to their chests like grandma's pearls.
Finneas O'Connell and Billie Eilish at the 2021 Grammy Awards. Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for The Recording Academy
Advertisers need people to advertise to
But there will be a tipping point if the audience dwindles further. Put simply: advertisers need people to advertise to.
Linda Ong, CEO of branding and media strategy firm Cultique, told Variety: "I think coming out of the pandemic, these award shows really need to think about what is their reason for being, what is their audience value proposition. Unless the industry can figure out what the consumer angle of the awards show itself is, it's going to be difficult. We're just going to continue to see this decline."
The Oscars, the Grammys, the Globes, the BAFTAs, the SAGs, the VMAs and God knows how many others all face the same question: What's next?
Well, one option would be to scrap televised ceremonies altogether. Audiences have clearly lost interest and other awards ceremonies and red carpet events, such as the Pulitzer Prizes and the Met Gala, retain their prestige without broadcasting their tedious ceremonies to the world.
However, with a purse in excess of $100 million, it seems unlikely that networks will be willing to sacrifice their shows altogether. But there could be a compromise.
Since its inception, the Oscars has never ran for less than three hours and 13 minutes, during which time you could watch almost any movie that has ever been nominated. So, why not cut back on how many awards are presented or at least omit the ones no one cares about from the televised show?
I'm sorry to the winners of best film editing and best production design out there, but the audience is not here for you. At least that's the way it seems.
Again, this option will likely be met with reluctance from the networks who would thus have to reduce ad spaces and potential revenue, and Academy voters who hold things like sound editing in great esteem.
One thing is clear, though: Hollywood must reinvent its awards ceremonies now or face further embarrassment. No amount of Glenn Close twerking is going to save it.
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