OSCARS: The Money, The Ads & Kimmel
The Academy Awards are about movies but they are also about money, too. And this year the moolah looks good for ABC and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. At around $1.7 million to $1.8 million for a 30-second spot, the Walt Disney Company-owned network has sold out its ad inventory for this Sunday’s show. The price for those spots are the highest the network has charged since 2008 when the economy started to tank. Advertisers Diet Coke, Neutrogena, J.C. Penny, Hyundai, Coldwell Banker Real Estate, Chobani Yogurt, and Grey Poupon are all hoping that host Seth MacFarlane will meet or beat those numbers for the new commercial campaigns they are launching. Other advertisers include Amex, Samsung, McDonald’s, Sprint, the University of Phoenix, Royal Caribbean, Anheuser-Busch and Ameriprise. In terms of the studios, Paramount, Weinstein Company and Universal won’t have movie ads. Disney, who gets discounted rate advertising from ABC, will be showing a spot for their upcoming Oz The Great And Powerful. Fox will be advertising The Heat, their upcoming Sandra Bullock/Melissa McCarthy feature directed by Paul Feig. Last year’s show, which was up a slight 4% from 2011, was the second most watched Oscars in the past half decade with 39.3 million viewers. The other number the Academy hopes to beat is how much it makes from the Oscars. Last year the profit was $51.2 million off the ceremony - up a bit from 2011 – with $89.6 million in revenue and $38.3 million in expenses. The one number no one wants to exceed is 2002′s when the show’s running time clocked in at 4 hours and 20 minutes – the longest on record. Part of the numbers is what happens around and after the Academy Awards. Conventional wisdom estimates that Oscar winners get around a 30% bump at the box office the week after. And Oscar veterans say there are more parties this year with more commercial sponsors footing the bills. (2013 Oscar Party Roundup) That will likely see LA benefiting even more than the $130 million or so the Oscars bring into the local economy. As he has since 2005, Jimmy Kimmel will be hosting an After The Oscars special this year. Announced guests include Django Unchained’s Jamie Foxx, Magic Mike’s Channing Tatum as well as Good Morning America co-host Robin Roberts. The ABC late night host will be showing his satirical Movie: The Movie Twovie starring Samuel L. Jackson, Best Actor nominee Bradley Cooper, Salma Hayek John Krasinski, Jude Law and Best Actress nominee Jessica Chastain. Here’s a clip:
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