Posted on 02/25/2008 2:09:47 PM PST by Zuben Elgenubi
The preliminary ratings numbers are out and Nielsen Media Research is saying that ratings for the Academy Awards telecast last night were some 14 percent lower than the least-watched ceremony ever, which was 2003, when 33 million people watched. And these preliminary ratings are also 21 percent lower than last year.
Advertisers look to the Oscars, nicknamed "the Super Bowl for women" to reach a mass audience of more affluent women. Last year 40 million people watched the awards ceremony, two thirds of them women. This year, thanks to the writers' strike, the fact that the nominated movies didn't have huge box office success, I'm not surprised that it's much less. The Academy --and ABC (owned by Disney("DIS","WSODQ_COMPONENT_DIS_ID0E1G15839609","WSODQ","true","ID0E1G15839609","off","false"); ,which broadcasts the telecast--will want to get the numbers up again next year.
But since the Academy can't control which films its members vote for, it's up to the Academy to come up with a way to make the show more exciting. And I'm sure the Academy hopes that next year there's a "Chicago" or "Titanic" --a movie that wins both at the box office and at the Oscars, the best recipe for Oscar ratings gold.
>I wouldn’t have tuned in if I’d heard that someone dropped a bomb on the place.
>>I’d have tuned in for that.
I would really have been torn between the two choices.
Hollywood’s such a yawn.
The foreign movies are much better than the tripe that Hollywood has been putting out lately.
DITTO
When the Academy stopped asking class acts like Billy Crystal, Steve Martin, Bob Hope, and Johnny Carson (yeah, I know the latter two are no longer with us) to host the telecasts, and started going for "edgier" types like Stewart, Chris Rock, and Whoopi Goldberg, that's when the Titanic of Award ceremonies hit the iceberg and started sinking ever so slowly...and shows no signs of letting up.
Well whatever the reason, I could really care less about those creeps; and it seems that for once, I'm part of a growing trend!
Best movies I've seen in the past 15 years were "Legends Before the Fall" and "Million Dollar Baby". I didn't go to MDB in the theatres because of all the negativity around here (FR) about euthanasia. I'm here to say the film is not about euthanasia but courage, determination and love.
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