Correction: Ratings drop was 20 percent from last year.
BREAKING: Viewership for the Academy Awards plunged 20 percent from last year to a record-low 26.5 million.
— The Associated Press (@AP) March 5, 2018
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No, I did not watch the Oscars last night. Sorry, I was not going to be lectured to about gun control or any issue by progressives in this bastion that have yet to deal with their serial sexual assault and misconduct problem. The Best Picture award went to The Shape Of Water, which is about a mute woman who has sex with a fish creature. Okay—it’s a bit more than that, but Hollywood’s incessant bashing of Donald Trump and Republicans seems to be having an impact on its ratings—they tanked this year; a dismal 16 percent drop from last year’s Academy Awards (via Deadline):
he good news did not carry over to ratings for the 90th Academy Awards, which (correctly) crowned The Shape of Water as Best Picture. Last night’s ceremony, which aired live from 8 PM – 11:54 PM EST, drew a 18.9 Live+Same Day rating in the metered market households. That was off 16% from last year’s 22.4 rating, which was a nine-year low. The 18.9 appears to be an all-time low for the Oscars, well below the previous low ratings point, logged with the 2008 telecast (21.9), hosted by Jon Stewart, when No Country For Old Men won Best Picture.
From the preliminary numbers, this could be the least-watched Oscars ever. So, what about the older Americans, don’t they watch the Oscars? Not the case.
The Association of Mature American Citizens (AMAC) did a survey and found that nearly all its participants said they had no interest in watching the Oscars, almost 20,000 people said, “no” in AMAC’s poll. CEO Dan Weber said, "“if Hollywood wishes to get seniors back in their good graces, it needs to reconnect with them by rediscovering themes that define the spirit of their generation: imagination, morality, decency, justice and liberty – and by refraining from the condescension that turns off America's seniors."
Yet, even with ratings being a disaster zone, the Academy will probably not suffer. As Vulture notes, the Oscars are still a good way for ABC to showcase their upcoming shows. Also, for now, ratings slumps won’t hurt anyone in this broadcast deal:
Back in 2016, ABC extended its existing decades-old deal to broadcast the Academy Awards by another eight years, ensuring the kudos will continue on the network through 2028. Even if ratings for the show continue to drop, that $75 million or so which flows into AMPAS’s pockets is guaranteed for a long, long time. Of course, it’s quite possible the whole idea of broadcast TV and linear networks won’t be around by the time 2028 rolls around. Given Netflix and Amazon’s ambitious expansions into the movie business, it’s not far-fetched to imagine a scenario a decade from now where the Oscars depart ad-supported TV altogether and end up streaming somewhere where ad dollars (and thus ratings) don’t matter at all. Would a streamer pay $75 million a year for a one-time-only event whose price couldn’t be offset by ad revenue? Logic suggests no — but in a TV world where Ryan Murphy gets $60 million a year, and Amazon pays a quarter-billion dollars to develop a Lord of the Rings series, never rule anything out.
Still, Hollywood’s insufferable progressive activism and hatred for President Trump and anyone who supports him is starting to test people’s patience.
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