[James]

In response to falling ratings. Some awards not to be shown live to reduce length, and Best Popular film category added - I predict Black Panther wins that next year, or A Quiet Place.

Academy Sets Three-Hour Oscars Broadcast, Adds Popular Film Category
By Rebecca Rubin

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences is instituting sweeping changes to the Oscars broadcast as it tries to find ways to bolster ratings for the flagging telecast.

In a message to its membership, the group’s president John Bailey and its CEO Dawn Hudson said the broadcast will now include a new category for outstanding achievement in popular film. The group did not provide details on what movies would be eligible and when the award will first be handed out, but its intent is clear.

At one point in its history, Oscar voters routinely named blockbusters such as “Titanic” or “Gladiator” as the year’s best. That’s changed. Recent best picture victors such as “Moonlight,” “Spotlight,” and the 2017 winner “The Shape of Water” have been firmly ensconced in the arthouse world, whereas well-reviewed hit films such as “Guardians of the Galaxy” or “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” have only been recognized for their technical achievements.

“We have heard from many of you about improvements needed to keep the Oscars and our Academy relevant in a changing world,” Bailey and Hudson wrote in a note to members. “The Board of Governors took this charge seriously.”



The Oscar broadcast has also been slagged as a tedious affair, that is larded with awards and humorous bits that are long-winded without enough of a payoff. To that end, the Academy’s board of governors announced on Wednesday that future broadcasts will be three-hours long.

AMPAS also set an earlier airdate for the 2020 telecast, which will be held on Feb. 9.

The 2018 awards show, which clocked in at almost four hours, was the least-watched Oscars to date. Though it pulled in 26.5 million viewers, the ratings were down 19% compared to the previous year.

To accommodate a three-hour ceremony, select categories will be presented during commercial breaks. Winning moments will be edited and later aired during the broadcast. The Tony Awards has taken a similar approach and the Oscars has already moved certain honors, such as its career achievement and humanitarian awards, to a different night in an effort to keep things moving.

Bailey and Hudson said the group’s board of governors, staff and certain working groups of members have spent the last several months discussing improvements to the show.

https://variety.com/2018/film/news/a...ry-1202899382/