The pandemic has changed TV viewing habits and rewards are suffering

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Think about it. How have your own viewing habits changed over the past year? What do you watch the most, the least and how? The responses largely explain the record breaking ratings for awards, most recently the Sunday Grammys on CBS. The broadcast “averaged a record 8.8 million viewers on Sunday,” wrote Gary Levin of USA Today. “That’s a 53% drop from 18.7 million for last year’s telecast on Jan. 26,” before the pandemic.

CBS said the Grammys were still “the biggest audience for an awards show this season” – but that’s because the Emmy Awards fell to a paltry 6.1 million in September, and the Golden Globes averaged only 6.9 million last month. So let’s see the reasons for this …

The Grammys have plummeted in ratings despite a TV show critics praised for its inventiveness and energy. But where some saw a well-produced event, others saw a desperate appeal for young people that was not suited to older TV demos. The overall problem is that a great split is taking place – a loss of common experiences, whether in film or television or, to some extent, in music.

Here’s Brian Lowry with an analysis: “The fallout from Covid-19 — and the impact on these live events — precipitated a host of problems. One obvious problem in the industry is fragmentation. Without fashion. of the red carpet and the unpredictability of live acceptance speeches in front of large audiences, why not just wait and watch snippets of everything that happens after the fact? “

Lowry adds, “Even the Super Bowl wasn’t entirely immune to these forces, which leaves me wondering: How much of this huge drop isn’t a one-time mistake, but the new normal? the latter, the license fees for the rewards are dramatically out of balance, and that will have a ripple effect on the organizations behind them, which depend on that TV revenue. “

Why it matters

Expanding on Lowry’s point: “While the decline of a few Hollywood self-congratulatory galas may seem trivial in the grand scheme of things, especially during a pandemic, these shows employ thousands of workers, and groups that put them funding programs for the arts, ”Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw wrote. “Television networks pay tens of millions of dollars for the rights to broadcast individual awards because they are part of an exclusive club: programming that must be seen live. Each year the Oscars and Grammys are among the only shows that can compete with live sports for viewers. “

Speaking of the Oscars …

Lisa Respers France writes: “The Oscar nominations were announced Monday morning and it was a good day for diversity. Seventy women received a total of 76 nominations, a record for any given year. Two women, Emerald Fennell and Chloe Zhao, were nominated in the Achievement category the same year for the first time. Zhao is the first woman of color to be nominated in the category. “

>> Filmmakers love movies on movies, and Netflix’s “Mank”, from the directing of the “Citizen Kane” screenplay, led the pack with 10 nods …

>> Also notable, from Lisa’s story: “Three black men, Leslie Odom Jr. for ‘A Night in Miami’ and Daniel Kaluuya and Lakeith Stanfield for ‘Judas and the Black Messiah,’ were all nominated in the category of best supporting actor. .. “

Reduced expectations for Oscar ratings

Brian Lowry writes: “Grammys ratings hit just hours after the Oscars kicked off. As NYT’s Brooks Barnes tweeted, if the Oscars telecast falls like the Grammys and the Globes, ABC could watch ‘an audience. about 10 million people, “an unthinkable number a few years ago. For now, my advice to Oscar producers and ABC would be to accept reduced expectations, and in a year where streaming will be the primary vehicle for delivering content — see Netflix’s record 35 nominations — go with the flow and hope for the best. “

Read Lowry’s full review here …

These trend lines go back ten years

In so many areas of American life, the pandemic is accelerating trends that already existed. On TV, “the pandemic has accelerated the exodus from the shelf,” Vulture ratings guru Joe Adalian wrote on Monday. As CBS Executive Vice President of Specials and Live Events Jack Sussman told the LA Times ahead of the show, “The awards hurt like most linear TV shows have suffered. Notably, in that same room, Grammy executive producer Ben Winston recognized the writing on the wall and predicted a 30-60% drop.

So let’s zoom out. Consider how much that has changed over the past decade: the growth of libraries of on-demand content, the habituation of ad-free viewing, the ubiquity of celebrities on social media, the ability to capture the best parts of events. live later, the stickiness of still active social feeds. One of the logical results: the star-studded live events are no longer a must-see. As one savvy TV executive told me, “awards shows have a common definition of pop culture and that idea has been eroded for years.”

Oprah Winfrey’s recent interview is a compelling counter-argument, however. Interest in Meghan and Harry’s interview was linked to the royal drama and curiosity about what she would say …



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