According to an article by Time, ABC’s airing of the 2020 Academy Awards was watched by the smallest audience in history, reaching only 23.6 million viewers, according to Nielsen. Now, nearly 24 million may seem like a large number, but this is a 20% decrease from the 2019 Oscars. The 2018 Oscars, which initially held the record for lowest ratings, was 26.5 million. These ratings were a surprise to some who considered this year’s Oscars to be one of many historical and cultural firsts. Parasite became the first-ever foreign language film to win the best picture, the night’s top award. Others felt that the early February airing of the show might be to blame for the low ratings, as it prevented the adequate promotion of the show. 

As one journalist put it, “It was too predictable, too white and too boring.” Those who took home some of the night’s top awards were Joaquin Phoenix, Renee Zellweger, and Brad Pitt, who had also been among the winners and previous awards. This left very few surprises for viewers who anticipated the trend of earlier awards would carry over to the Oscars. Although Parasite’s win was a surprise to some, a large number of viewers had not yet seen the movie, leaving little emotional investment in the film.  

This was the second year in a row where the Oscars were without a host, a detail some critics felt was detrimental to viewership numbers. Other critics joked that the broadcast was on “autopilot,” adding the show was “three and a half hours of Hollywood cruising along at 35,000 feet.” The lack of structure and sensible flow made the show feel somewhat disorganized and random. In the past, the Oscars fluctuated between 35-45 million viewers. It was often considered the second most-watched cable program of the year behind, of course, the Super Bowl. As little as five years ago, the show received 37.3 million viewers. 

Still, the Motion Picture Academy is not entirely to blame here. Live television has experienced a significant drop in viewership in recent years due to the upsurge in streaming services. With that being said, as streaming services continue to advance and grow in popularity, cable network event producers must consider how this growth may affect the success of their program. Similar award broadcasts, including the Golden Globes and Grammy Awards, also experienced declines in viewership, although neither were as steep as this year’s Oscars. 

 

 

As the regular NFL season comes to a close and the Super Bowl approaches, fans and viewers alike look forward to the biggest event of the year for sports and TV commercials. Those interested in securing a slot in this year’s Super Bowl had to cough up a record-breaking $5.6 million for just 30 seconds of advertising time. For the most part, the commercials aired on Sunday were light-hearted, many sticking to themes of nostalgia, positivity, unity, and as always, celebrity. 

It appeared that many companies chose a more comedic approach this year, providing escapism from the political and social unrest present across the nation. As one chief creative officer put it, “some wonderful dumbness.” The commercials that seemed to have the most significant impact on viewers were those that took a more heartfelt approach. Google’s ad about an elderly grandfather using the platform to aid his memory of his late wife received an outpour of emotion on social media. As one advertising executive put it, “the ads that people remember most over time are the simplest ads with human stories, and that was missing for the most part.” 

Many felt that the ads featured in this year’s program lacked this human connection. They instead focused heavily on celebrity appearances and seemingly meaningless storylines that fail to leave an impact on viewers. During the broadcast, viewers are subject to over 80 commercials making it easy for some to get lost in the chaos and manic of others. With this in mind, without a clear message or impactful moment, an ad often is quickly forgotten by viewers. Hulu turned to Patriots quarterback Tom Brady while Cheetos featured rapper MC Hammer. Although entertaining, some felt the celebrity appearances distracted viewers from the meaning or purpose of the ad itself. 

In terms of Super Bowl firsts, Sabra hummus became the first Super Bowl commercial ever to feature drag queens, casting two contestants from “RuPaul’s Drag Race” to star in the commercial. This cultural milestone was met with outrage by conservative activist group One Million Moms, who recently led the charge in demanding Hallmark remove ads featuring brides kissing each other. Following the broadcast of the Sabra ad, the group began circulating a petition that the commercial is excluded from further broadcasts. Super Bowl LIV also became the first Super Bowl to features national commercials from two presidential candidates, including President Trump and presidential candidate Michael R. Bloomberg. The broadcast included two ads from President Trump, together costing his campaign more than $11 million. The political tone of these ads stood out among others that attempted to avoid sensitive topics amid the looming Democratic caucuses in Iowa and 2020 presidential election.

Still, it is crucial to consider the amount of time and consideration poured into every second of each 30-second commercial. Typically, companies spend months preparing and brainstorming ideas for their featured commercial. According to the New York Times, the awareness of Super Bowl ads usually peaks just two weeks after the initial broadcast. Less than an hour after the game had ended, not a single commercial featured was among the trending topics on Twitter. Given the lack of buzz surrounding these commercials, one can’t help but wonder where advertisers went wrong. Over the next few months, these commercials will likely disappear from public discourse entirely, slowly being integrated into regularly scheduled cable programming.

This year’s Grammys was a night that many will not soon forget, full of emotions and sorrow following the sudden and tragic death of NBA legend Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna. Although the awards began on a somber note, host Alicia Keys was determined to bring viewers, artists, and mourners together in the name of music. 

An article featured on CNN on Monday morning shared just some of the many grievances aired by artists off stage. Among one of the night’s winners was Tyler the Creator who’s 2019 record IGOR won best rap album. IGOR debuted at #1 on the Billboard charts and became Tyler’s first number one album in the United States. After accepting his award, Tyler voiced his frustrations with the Recording Academy for consistently organizing “guys who look like me” in rap and urban categories. He felt that classifying his music as rap was a “backhanded compliment” that failed to acknowledge the complexity of his genre-bending sound. Like many hip-hop artists, Tyler feels that regardless of how genre-bending his work becomes, it will always be categorized as rap or urban. Tyler even went on to criticize the use of the term “urban,” which he feels is just “a politically correct way” to say derogatory terms in reference to the black community. Tyler expressed his desire to be accepted and recognized “on a mainstream level” and not forever restricted to “urban” categories. 

This criticism has been consistently vocalized by black artists who feel they suffer unwavering mistreatment by the Academy. Artists like Frank Ocean and Kanye West have since boycotted the awards in recent years due to the Academy’s failure to recognize “era-defining” black artists. Both Ocean and West have been known to work in a range of genres outside of rap, including gospel, pop, and R&B. Tyler’s remarks come soon after the Academy announced a new diversity initiative enacted to ensure inclusivity, diversity, and equal representation of artists. Such changes, however, will offer little change if not put into practice on an industry-wide scale.

It is no secret that our nation has dealt with a great deal of mistrust and uncertainty in recent years in virtually all aspects of life. Widespread reports of “fake news” and other misconduct have left citizens to wonder, “who can we trust?” 

A recent national survey conducted by the Morning Consult revealed that more Americans trust American companies than the U.S government and institutions. The survey asked subjects to rate their trust in over 20 different brands, institutions, and public figures and their ability to “do the right thing.” Subjects could respond one of five ways, including “a lot,” “some,” “not much,” “not at all,” or “I don’t know.” Among the most trusted companies were Amazon and Google, which were ranked third and fourth by those surveyed. Both were ranked higher in overall trust than teachers, law enforcement, Donald Trump, and the U.S Government. Ultimately, primary doctors and the military were among the top two most trusted by those surveyed. Still, 39% of subjects expressed trust in Amazon, and 38% placed confidence in Google. These ratings are exceptionally higher than the 26% trust in scientific studies and 23% trust in health warnings and advisories among subjects. 

This data suggests some intriguing insight into the opinions of Americans presently. More than two-thirds of the subjects surveyed stated that they have become increasingly less trusting of public entities and figures in recent years. Alongside, nearly three in four Americans placed their confidence in major companies and brands to deliver a consistent and dependable product or service. This dependability has created a virtually unbreakable loyalty among consumers, one that appears to be stronger than that of the dynamic between citizen and government. Although these findings may come as no surprise to many Americans, they only further emphasize the need for change within our country. If Americans cannot trust those appointed to protect and serve, how can the country continue to prosper? 

 

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/people-trust-amazon-and-google-more-than-the-police-or-the-government-2020-01-14