The Oscar ceremony this year is expected to lose some of its usual sparkle.
As part of a measure that overturns several years of rising costs and emphasizes the deterioration of the economy, the ABC network has cut off the price of advertisements for Sunday’s annual Academy Awards show, which represents one of television’s most popular programs.
In spite of the fact that they were once believed to be unshakable by recession, major events such as the Oscars and the Super Bowl that generally draw tens of millions of viewers, are no longer able to control habitual price climbs. For instance, NBC found itself in January promoting unsold commercial register in the Super Bowl just a few days before the big game was due. Moreover, the Peacock network even had to cut prices so as to tempt eleventh-hour backers.
Last year, ABC sold ad time in the Academy Awards ceremony for as much as $1.8 million for a half-a-minute commercial. Now, however, with the economic crisis well-advanced on top of five years in a row of decreasing Oscar ratings, the network has had to drop its rates, thus selling individual spots for $1.4 million to $1.7 million.
Nevertheless, the program should bring in approximately $68 million in revenue for ABC, consistent with figures by TNS Media Intelligence, which tracks advertising spending. That would represent a 16% decline compared to last year, when the telecast generated $81 million in revenue.
“It’s more than just the economy,” explained Peter Sealey, a marketing professor at the Peter Drucker Graduate School of Management at Claremont Graduate University and a former movie industry executive, as quoted by the Los Angeles Times.
“The academy has a problem here. The show is way too long, and the films this year are not spectacular,” he added. “If this year’s ratings are down, it could be the tipping point and they will have to make changes.”
Throughout the past few years, ABC could count on approximately $15 million in profit from the show, while the producer, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, gains as well. Ad revenue from the telecast endorses the organization’s actions, which include industry records for academics and instructive events for the public.
Numerous longtime Academy Award sponsors such as General Motors Corp. and L’Oreal Paris gave up this year’s show and so did Dove soap. American Express Co., however, which has been one of the major Oscar advertisers, acquired only one spot, as it has been cutting on promotional expenses.
Nonetheless, a tactic by the academy last fall to fill the expected profit gap that appeared as a result of the sponsors’ loss, did not manage to generate the anticipated result. The academy loosened its half-a-century ban on movie studio’s promoting their films throughout the show.
