Awards Show Tune Out

There's bad, and then there's abysmal. The drop in ratings for the Oscars was expected, but not to where it would drop to below ten million viewers. From Nielsen, it was around 9.8 million. Plenty of factors come into play for this year in particular. I also have serious doubt on whether there will be an increase for next year on account of the tune out of these awards shows.

Number one obviously is the pandemic. Once it hit around February and March last year, tons of theaters closed down. Plenty of movies planned were pushed back. Production for many were delayed. Studios are still trying to get an audience by hoping things are normal around the summer or fall. Some of these nominations are from streaming, which goes into the next issue. It's not a filmmakers fault for making what they want, but it is something that tunes out viewers.

Two is movies nobody knows about. I've never heard of Nomadland until now. It won several Oscars, including one for director Chloe Zhao. This is a growing problem, and it's not the fault of Zhao. I don't think a smaller film shouldn't be deserving, but there are much bigger films that deserve their chance to shine, and I'm talking big ones that aren't comic book adaptations. I don't think anyone will remember Nomadland in five, ten years time. It will be like what happened with Slumdog Millionaire. Won awards, but no one cared after 2010.

Three is politics. While I don't think it's the number one factor in the ratings decline, I think it still plays a factor. The amount of pandering these actors do and the films that win. That's not what viewers want to listen to. This isn't a new phenomenon, but it has grown so much in the last decade that the escape from reality is unescapable. I question if some of these actors understand politics. It applies to some of these other awards shows and it's getting more dangerous by the day.

Last is predictability. This isn't new, but it does get tiring when you see the same studios winning over and over. Snubs are common. One example is animated films. Disney usually wins and it bothers viewers. I would think Souls is good, but the thought of better animated films more deserving to win will linger into the viewer's mind.

The only other thing that could be a factor is length. Sure, it could play a role in decline, but other facets of viewing could be a contributing factor. Why do you think Viacom tries to get most of its cable channels to air the same awards show? Regardless, these awards shows are going to have to find ways to get viewership back, and I don't think they have enough to drive interest to these programs.