Franchises are the name of the game in Hollywood, so why isn’t the Academy growing its Oscar franchise?
Instead of having just one overlong telecast that ends an overlong awards season and whose ratings have been eroding for years, the Academy should find a way to get more than one TV bite out of its Oscar apple.
The low-hanging fruit here is the Oscar Nominations. The Academy reveals them in a lifeless live announcement at 5:00 a.m./PT to accommodate the New York-based breakfast TV shows. It’s a wasted opportunity to start the Oscar ball rolling with energy & excitement.
Noms should be unveiled in a prime-time one-hour special on ABC with a parade of A-list names opening sealed envelopes to tell viewers who got into every race. This would be the perfect time to play short scenes — not trailers, which are ads — from each of the 10 best picture nominees to begin making viewers aware of who’s competing. Perhaps, they’ll even buy tickets to see some of them.
By wasting the Oscar noms opportunity, the Academy is also giving up a chance to earn additional ad revenue. ABC could create a premium-priced combo package to put big brands on both the Oscar Noms & Oscar Night telecasts.