ABC guarantees Oscars ratings thresholds for the first time to placate ‘nervous’ advertisers following years of declining viewership, insiders say
- The 91st Academy Awards will air on ABC on Sunday night at 8pm EST
- Deadline reports that broadcast ratings guarantees were offered to long-term advertisers such as car brands, beer companies and consumer technology firms
- Insider said: ‘Year after year of declining ratings are getting us to a danger zone’
ABC has guaranteed Oscars ratings thresholds for the first time in an attempt to hold onto advertisers following several years of drastic drops in viewership.
The guarantees were offered to long-term advertisers such as car brands, beer companies and consumer technology firms, one insider told Deadline.
‘The Oscars are still a very big deal, but people aren’t stupid, and year after year of declining ratings are getting us to a danger zone,’ the insider said ahead of Sunday night’s star-studded show.
‘We are right on the edge of that danger zone — not close, but on it — and that makes advertisers very nervous.’
The decision to include ratings guarantees was reportedly made before any of the missteps, controversies and self-inflicted wounds that have embroiled 2019 Oscar season in recent weeks.
The Academy of Motion Pictures has suffered a litany of disasters that ranges from aborted plans to introduce a popular film category, an abandoned move to prevent some best song nominees from performing during the telecast, and a misbegotten decision to tap Kevin Hart to host the broadcast.
ABC has guaranteed Oscars ratings guarantees for the first time in an attempt to hold onto deep-pocketed advertisers following several years of drastic drops in viewership, according to insiders. The guarantees for Sunday night’s broadcast were offered to long-term advertisers such as car brands, beer companies and consumer technology firms (file photo)
Ratings for the notoriously long-winded broadcast have continued to plunge year-over-year, with the 90th Annual Academy Awards in 2018 bringing in an all-time low viewership of 26.5 million, down double digits from the year before.
One executive hinted that this year’s ratings thresholds are quite conservative, telling Deadline: ‘It’s very unlikely that things will fall so radically this year that they’ll drop beneath those thresholds, but the fact is that there finally had to be such guarantees was a wake-up call to everyone.’
Despite insider reports, Disney-owned ABC has denied promising specific ratings numbers for the show, which costs $85million to tape.
‘The Oscars is one of the most highly sought-out live events in the industry. Historically, we have never guaranteed Oscars, and this year is no different,’ Doug Hochstadt, Revenue and Yield Management for Disney Advertising Sales, told Deadline.