Ratings: Oscars Lay a Golden Egg - Oscars Live Recap and News Blog

Marion Cotillard at the 80th Annual Academy Awards by Michael Caulfield/WireImage.com Sunday night's presentation of the 80th Annual Academy Awards was watched by an average of 32 million total viewers — a 20 percent plunge from a year ago and, in fact, the Oscars' measliest ratings on record since Nielsen started tracking the event in 1974. Worst ever. Of all time. The ratings dive caps an awards season that kicked off last September with the least-watched Emmys in 17 years, then followed with strike-impaired presentations of the Globes, SAGs and Grammys. Why do you think the Oscars underperformed this year? Not enough traditional "blockbuster" fare in the running? The lingering effects of strike fatigue? Or did Gary Busey scare us all away? This interesting op-ed piece in the New York Times suggests that many Americans simply find the excess of glam and glitz irrelevant to their regular lives. —Matt Mitovich Leave a Comment
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Posted by TV Guide Staff Feb 25, 2008 5:52 PM Report Abuse

Because giving awards out to people who feel they are more important than the rest of us is disgusting! Watching people who are so out of touch with the real world receive awards for doing something so unimportant in the big picture of things is just so uneventful.
Posted by MrsT1040 Feb 25, 2008 7:31 PM Report Abuse

Award shows are boring. No need to televise them. Air something more interesting like a scripted drama or two in that time slot.
Posted by godofpathos Feb 25, 2008 7:35 PM Report Abuse

Because no one cares anymore. If anything INTERESTING did happen...you can watch on youtube 10 miinutes later. Why waste 3 hours of your time...
Posted by karaleefan Feb 25, 2008 7:36 PM Report Abuse

If anything INTERESTING did happen...you can watch on youtube 10 miinutes later. Why waste 3 hours of your time...

Without the 3 hour show there is nothing to put on YouTube!

Watching people who are so out of touch with the real world receive awards for doing something so unimportant in the big picture of things is just so uneventful.

Ahhh, but movies are important to the big picture. To be able to escape, to be able to laugh and cry, to scream in terror, to be taken on a journey that can change the way I look at the world or myself, to stretch my mind, or just to make my mind live in the moment.

I think the world would be a sad place without movies.

What is really disgusting is the $40,000 gift basket given to them for presenting and such. Not many follow George Clooney's example and auction them off for charity.

Posted by countryqueen

Feb 25, 2008 8:23 PM

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I've stopped watching award shows because I've gotten sick of the presenters just being there to pimp out their next movie, album, or project. It's really bad with MTV award shows. Plus, watching the acceptance speeches can be really painful - especially when they get political or thank everybody they know and run over their limit. I've simply lost interest.
Posted by bonnjill Feb 25, 2008 9:02 PM Report Abuse

This is a very simple answer. There were no popular films nominated, and many if not most of the actors, very few people had ever heard of. Let's face it: more Americans know who Susan Lucci is than Marion Cotillard. This is the first Oscar show in my life that I did not watch, because I didnt know who the nominees were. I didn't care.
Posted by lostfan23 Feb 25, 2008 9:05 PM Report Abuse

I think maybe the author meant goose egg or something else. Surely not golden egg!
Posted by mitogirl Feb 25, 2008 9:36 PM Report Abuse

lostfan23 hit the nail on the head. The ratings for the Oscars are most certainly linked to the films and actors that are nominated. I don't think it's any coincidence that one of the highest rated Oscars of all time was in 1998, when Titanic was nominated.
Posted by JPM Feb 25, 2008 9:48 PM Report Abuse

How do they count viewers that Tivo'd or DVR'd it, and watched it the next day? Most people I know did that. Also, as lostfan23 said, the movies nominated were not these big blockbuster movies. And I'm sure the strike played a part in it too.
Posted by alichat Feb 25, 2008 10:17 PM Report Abuse

I watch the Oscars every year, have an Oscar pool,etc. However, it is no secret that many times the Oscar is given to someone or some movie that most would agree didn't deserve it. The box office results and Oscar nominations/winners have very rarely of late been on the same page, as they were back when Oscar started. I saw No Country...and Juno. There is no doubt in my mind that Juno was the more entertaining movie. But, I'm not an actor, a cinematographer, an editor, etc. If I understood the "art form" of movie making, like the voters do, then I might vote differently, and then the "winners" might make more sense.

Posted by loumanc

Feb 26, 2008 12:27 AM

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People might have been pissed off because of the long writers strike and this was their way of saying screw you people.
Posted by mrmeowspa Feb 26, 2008 7:46 AM Report Abuse

Why WOULD any one watch !?! Most of the paying public do not see most of the movies nominated. Wasn't even too many stars of interest nominated. Between the blogs and all the websites it's better/easier to just read all about in the next day.

The show is long and bloated and boring.

The red carpet people just suck any more - including Ryan Seacrest and Lisa Rhinna. Used to be the Red Carpet peeps actually KNEW the stars - made it interesting.

I'd rather see the dresses on the web now than have to listen to these people who are nobody's try to talk to the stars.

Posted by mryjhnsn2

Feb 26, 2008 8:39 AM

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I personally think award shows are boring and take way too long. If the show went on without all the performances (except the Grammys) it would go by so much quicker and would not be so dull.
Posted by CSIWannaBe Feb 26, 2008 9:07 AM Report Abuse

My take:

1. The show is too long. Many of the more technical awards should be included in the pre-Oscar distribution, and just mentioned on the show.

2. The scripted jokes are boring. The writers for that shouldn't get paid.

3. The political jokes are unfunny and offensive.

4. The impact of the award has lessened over the years. I used to be impressed to find out that a movie or a performance had won an Oscar. Now, after so many performances I consider average and movies I thought undeserving have won Oscars, I'm less interested.

5. The writers' strike went on too long and made the viewing public angry.

Posted by AriGato

Feb 26, 2008 10:03 AM

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