Maybe trying the approach of The Game Awards so that The Oscars could stay relevant
Has been around since 1929, the Academy Awards, more well-known under the name the Oscars has been a long and prestigious awards show in the film industry. Every year, millions of viewers tune into the show to see their favorite films get compared and pitted with each other for the biggest awards in the land of entertainment. However, in recent years, the show has been on a kinda downward trend of viewership.
This year eventhough the rating has gone up a little bit when compared to the last couple of years. This year the Oscars got around 30 millions viewers with 7.7 rating of adult viewers. But the show has passed through without any remark. In the last few years, the holder of the event ( Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences) has been trying to remodel and modernize the show for the new age. It is a good thing that they are now realized that they need to future proofing the Oscars. There are many issues that they need to take a look into like representation, the content of the awards, and other factors. For those, I think that they could take a look into the equivalent of it in the gaming world: The Game Awards and leản something from it.
Make the show more easy to watch
When put into comparison 91st Academy Awards and 2018 The Game Awards you could notice a big difference between how you access those shows. For example, if you want to watch 2018 The Game Awards, you could choose to watch it on Facebook, Twitter, Mixer, Twitch, YouTube and many other platforms completely free. In the meantime, if you want to watch the Oscars you must use the cable/ antenna TV or watch it on a paid subscription service like PlayStation Vue, ABC app, Sling TV, YouTube TV, Hulu Live.
We could talk a lot about how old entertainment medium has been lacking behind in adapting to the modern age. But long story short, in the case of the Oscars they will see shrinking viewer pool if they resist online streaming. One part is because the number of cable TV users is getting smaller day by day, and if the show still keeps sitting behind that closed gate then its fate would be certain dommed. The show needs to adapt to be relevant to the younger generation.
You might argue that the streaming services are fundamentally different than antenna or cable, it is still more beneficial for the Oscars to stream to everyone. Left aside services like Mixer or Twitch which I think are nor compatible with the show, but there is no reason for the show to not go on big social platforms like Twitter and Facebook. They should really learn from The Game Awards and make the transfer to streaming services better soon than sorry.
Add in More Announcements and Trailers
One more story from The Game Awards is that people watch it for the announcements and trailers more than because of their achievements. For example of another big event such as the Super Bowl, they know how much people love the commercials and they give them just that. While maybe the Oscars are doing their in-house short montages, videos about the entertainment industry. These are just not as attractive as the commercial of Super Bowl ( or The Game Awards).
Of course, we must take into account the transparent characteristic of the film industry, so that surprise announcement would not work for it. However, I bet that more people will tune in the show if they know that they will get a look at the new trailers for upcoming hits such as The Lion King, IT: Chapter 2, Detective Pikachu, or Avengers: Endgame. Or maybe they could just add in some fun commercials with Super Bowl style to stir up the show.
While they could also charge the owner for the announcements and commercials which will help make up for the loss of transferring to free stream platforms. Just need to do whatever it needs to attract more people using the excitement factor. Doing both of those things above will help to get more viewers but to keep them watching each year one thing must change.
More Character and a Strong Host
I am admitted that the 91st Oscar show was as bad as I thought it would be, even when it lacked a real host. It went by at a fast pace and still managed to highlight the important awards. But the flaw of the 91st Oscar show is that it is simply boring and didn't have much character because they kept swapping celebrities to get as many celebrities on air as possible. While back in 2018, The Game Awards of that year is quite remarkable mainly because of the amazing host: Geoff Keighley.
Geoff is the pillar of The Game Awards in these past years and also is a big driving force. He is recognizable for the people and he has a true passion for the medium he hosts. The Oscars doesn't have that. The thing was quite good back in the time with Jimmy Kimmel but when Jimmy quitted. There is no one to replace him so the show continues without a host. No host results in a less enjoyable and fun show for the viewers.
During the 91st Oscars show, I liked the first bit of Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph, and Tina Fey than the rest because of the humor and their characters. So for the show, I truly think that they should slow down and find someone to host the show. No matter that it be a comedian or a recognizable face, the shows will benefit greatly behind someone likable in one or two years.
Summarize up everything, all of my suggestions come back to one single thing: the Oscars are stuck in the old way, The Game Awards are more relevant and attractive both for its medium and as a show. The Oscars must adapt to survive and lessons from The Game Awards are worth to learn.
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