The 97th annual Academy Awards broadcast saw a 1% increase in viewership from last year’s telecast. What’s behind the ratings boost? Might this have any effect on where the awards show lands after ABC’s deal with the academy ends in 2028? Also, is the Disney CEO succession race heating up? Kim Masters and Matt Belloni investigate.
Movin’ on up? This year’s Oscars ceremony brought in 19.7 million viewers– a number that could largely be attributed to the show being simulcast on ABC and Hulu. “They did a nice job with what they had,” says Belloni, “which was a lot of nominated movies that not a lot of people knew about. That is the number one factor in whether people watch the Oscars, whether they have seen the movies. But they had one thing going for them — it was live on Hulu.”
And the Oscar(s) go to? With Disney’s broadcast deal set to expire in 2028, The Academy is having conversations about potential homes for the awards show. “They've already started negotiating a possible new deal,” says Belloni. “But now we’ve learned that Netflix is interested, and that the academy is testing the water with other potential suitors. They want the most money. They currently make over $100 million a year in this broadcast deal, but the ratings are not going up by that much.”
Mouse Hunt? As the search for Disney’s next CEO continues, some familiar faces are starting to ‘not campaign’ for the throne. “Dana Walden, who heads up the television and streaming group, spoke at the Morgan Stanley technology, Media and Telecom conference this past week,” says Masters. “This comes as they're looking for Bob Iger’s successor. There’s supposed to be this, ‘don't campaign, or everybody's going to get mad at you’ [agreement], but she and Josh D’Amaro from the theme parks do appear to be out and about.”