After the lowest-rated Academy Awards telecast (with 26.5 million viewers), the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ board of governors approved several major changes to the tradition-bound ceremony’s format in the hope of retaining the viewers it still has and luring others back into the fold ahead of its 91st Academy Awards.
The planned updates include cutting the telecast to a maximum of three hours long, down from an average closer to four hours. To make the awards shorter, some wins won’t be telecasted and will be awarded during commercial breaks.
Re-elected cinematographer John Bailey and Academy CEO Dawn Hudson said in a letter to members that the board has “committed to producing an entertaining show in three hours.”
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They explain that this will be achieved partly by “present[ing] select categories live, in the Dolby Theatre, during commercial breaks (categories to be determined). Those categories will not be removed from the telecast; instead, the winning moments will then be edited and aired later in the broadcast.”
According to reports, the Academy is also planning for an early airdate, moving it up to February 9th from February 23rd.
But the biggest alteration that drew the most response is adding a new award category for Outstanding Achievement in Popular Film. The category marks the first new addition since 2001’s of a special Academy Award category for Best Animated Feature.
Change is coming to the #Oscars. Here’s what you need to know:
– A new category is being designed around achievement in popular film.
– We’ve set an earlier airdate for 2020: mark your calendars for February 9.
– We’re planning a more globally accessible, three-hour telecast. pic.twitter.com/oKTwjV1Qv9— The Academy (@TheAcademy) August 8, 2018
The Oscars have become anti-climactic, coming, as it does, at the end of a months-long season in which it is preceded by dozens of awards ceremonies. As a result, people inside the industry will certainly be less burned-out by the time the Oscars finally come along.
