Oscar Ceremony to Move to January?
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is currently considering moving up the date of the Oscar ceremony from late February to as early as January. (Nikki Finke broke the news on Tuesday.)
There’s no official reason for the move, but the Academy clearly wants better television ratings for its show. This year, 41.7m people watched at least part of the Oscarcast, which pitted Kathryn Bigelow‘s The Hurt Locker against James Cameron‘s megablockbuster Avatar. Two years ago, the number of viewers bottomed out at 31.7m. That’s when Joel and Ethan Coen‘s No Country for Old Men won the Best Picture Oscar. Ratings, however, have remained either below or hovering around 25% for the last ten years.
An Academy statement released today read:
"There are a number of questions still to be answered and challenges to be addressed with regard to moving the show to an earlier date. The academy governors and staff have been and will continue to look into those questions and challenges. No decision has been made and there is currently no timetable for when a decision might be made."
In 2011, the Oscarcast will take place on Feb. 27. The move — in case it does happen — would take effect at the earliest in 2012.
Photo: AMPAS
More information about: Academy Awards, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
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