The Oscars: My Opinion On A Possible Solution To Their Popularity Problem

Well, the Oscars are a changin'.  The problem is that viewer numbers for the awards show have dropped to their lowest ever.  Because of this, there is now a push to make more eyeballs want to tune in.  They are looking to shorten the show to three hours, meaning that some of the technical awards will be given out during commercial breaks, with highlights from this coming later in the show.  In 2020, the date is shifting up to closer to the beginning of February.  The idea is to get the Oscars done before audiences are burnt out from watching all of the other awards shows.  I don't know about you, but I sure get tired of just how many people talk about the SAG and Independent Spirit Awards.  Lastly, they are going to introduce an award celebrating a 'popular' film.

All of this reminds me of the ill-fated movie about the birth and development of FIFA, United Passions.  While football governing body FIFA seemed to think the movie was about the passion and growth of global football, they were ultimately communicating to the audience that success meant more money.  This was wildly funny considering all of the corruption that was coming out at the time.  When I look at the decisions of The Academy, I can't help but feel their true desires are being heard.  It isn't about legitimizing the awards, but getting more viewers.  More viewers equals more advertising, which equals more money, which isn't a course of motivation that a legitimate awards body should be following.

I'm not going to make this a long piece.  I had started going that way, and wanting to rant about so much, but I think I would rather make this about something that I have been talking about for years now.

MAKE NOMINATED MOVIES EASY TO ACCESS FOR THE PUBLIC!!!!

Now, this won't solve all problems, but people I talk to haven't seen (or necessarily even heard of) over ninety percent of films up for Best Picture or the other major awards.  I know that exhibitors want guarantees that movies they screen will be off of video for around ninety days.  Because of this, it would be very difficult to propose this to them, bet we need to be honest.  The industry is changing quickly, and there are ramifications of not changing with it.  Mainly, illegal copies of movies getting viewed online.

People do pirate material, but high percentages will pay for a reasonably priced legal option.  A quick example of that is the current state of the music industry.  Yes, it did get its ass kicked by the digital realm, but people have moved away from the peer to peer model.  There are so many streaming options for good prices that it has brought many customers back into the fold.  With platforms that allow people to purchase either individual songs or entire albums, the consumer has control over how they get the product.  I have also read multiple articles that highlight how consumers will generally use a convenient, reasonably priced option over piracy.  Sadly, I can't remember them, and (since I need to write this quickly) I won't be hunting them down right now.

With an opportunity to have a digital screening window prior to the Oscars, platforms could charge perhaps a little bit more than a premium rental.  They would benefit from the sudden interest that the public may have in these films after they get nominated.  I could see how this would be opposed, because some of these nominated movies get increased theatre screens after the nominations, and theatre chains would claim such an option would hurt numbers.  That's been the argument that's always been made about day and date releases (movies that come out on video at the same time as hitting theatres), and I believe its eventually going to be challenged by consumer habits.

The Academy would benefit from a digital streaming window by their films being more relevant to audiences.  This isn't a few decades ago when the mature movies got nationwide release.  Typically, Oscar fare is in limited release, and sometimes the movies perform well enough to expand to wide release.  This would be the ideal way for Oscar fare to get out to the public, but it doesn't happen to enough films.  More possible eyeballs on the films could mean more interest in the show itself.

Regardless, this idea of a digital screening window isn't going to happen because cinema hasn't completely caught up to the digital age.  Major chains would oppose such ideas because, just as they have for attempts of change in the past.  I do believe that there would be a financial benefit for allowing access to these films, but what do I know?  I know that seemingly every year in February there seems to be an article highlighting how much people are pirating the Oscar nominated movies.  Why not give them a legitimate option?

And lastly, to The Academy...

People are cutting the cord.  Simply put, lower ratings are a part of that.  You don't need to go and add The Tourist to the program.