Oscars to present eight awards off air in a bid for streamlined telecast

Los Angeles, Feb. 23 (IANS): Eight honours from the 94th Academy Awards will not be doled out on air in order to make the show more streamlined and more television friendly as awards from eight categories will be presented during off-air parts of the show and then edited into the telecast.

For the aforementioned category of awards which include documentary short, film editing, makeup and hairstyling, original score, production design, animated short, live action short and sound, the ceremony will start one hour before the on-camera portion begins in order to accommodate the changes, reports ‘Variety’.

As per ‘Variety’, clips of the speeches will be packaged into the live televised broadcast, an approach to what the Tony Awards and other televised ceremonies did with awards in technical categories. Nominees in the awards categories that will be awarded prior to the show were informed of the overhaul during a Zoom call on Tuesday (United States Pacific Standard Time).

The 94th edition of the awards show is under immense pressure to bolster ratings from the television network ABC. The pressure comes following last year’s ceremony, which turned out to be the least-watched in the history of the awards, with just 9.23 million viewers tuning in to watch the ceremony, a 51 per cent drop from the 18.69 million viewers who switched on the previous year’s Oscars.

“After carefully listening to feedback and suggestions from our film community, our network partner, and all those who love the Oscars, it was evident we needed to make some decisions about the broadcast that are in the best interest of the future of our show and our organisation,” Academy President David Rubin wrote in a letter that went out to the group’s membership, accessed by ‘Variety’.

“We realise these kinds of changes can prompt concern about equity, and we ask you to understand our goal has been to find a balance in which nominees, winners, members, and viewing audience all have a rewarding show experience,” the statement further read.

“Moving forward we will assess this change and will continue to look for additional ways to make our show more entertaining and more thrilling for all involved, inside the Dolby Theatre and watching from home,” Rubin concluded his statement.