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Nielsen information reveals viewers have misplaced curiosity in award reveals

Nielsen data shows viewers have lost interest in award shows

The Oscars are Hollywood’s biggest night out, but fewer and fewer people outside of that circle are attending the event.

Last Sunday, the audience for the annual Oscars show dropped to a new low. According to Nielsen data, 10.4 million people watched which film took home the best picture award. That’s a nearly 56% decrease from the 23.6 million viewers who turned on their televisions for the show last year.

The Academy’s third consecutive hostless show scored a 2.12 rating for adults between 18 and 49, a key demographic for advertisers, down 60% from 2020.

The decline in both metrics is not entirely surprising, given that awards shows have generally seen a decline in viewership over the past few years. And only a few of the nominees were considered mainstream as the cinemas have largely been closed for a year due to the pandemic.

The Emmy Awards, which aired in September, had the lowest attendance for such a ceremony in the history of the television academy. The show only drew 5.1 million viewers, according to Nielsen, which is a 14% decrease from last year’s event.

The Grammys also saw astounding declines. This year’s awards show drew 9.23 million viewers, a 51% decrease from 18.69 million who chose the program in 2020.

Do people get bored at big awards shows or do they just look at each other differently?

Some argue that the flood of too many live awards ceremonies has saturated the market and made world-class awards shows like the Grammys, Emmys, and Oscars less exciting for viewers.

The Golden Globes, Video Music Awards (VMAs), Billboard Music Awards, Country Music Awards, BET Awards, People Choice Awards, Critics Choice Awards, and countless other ceremonies have been televised in recent years. With so little curation, it wouldn’t be surprising if viewers felt tired.

Not to mention, younger viewers, many of whom have cut cables, aren’t as willing to watch the traditional 16-20 minute commercials per hour that come with a live TV broadcast. A three-hour show like the Oscars can be an hour’s worth of advertising.

There are also some who complain that Hollywood uses its awards shows to make political and social statements. Regina King, who opened the Oscars on Sunday, used her time to point out how Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty of three charges last year in the murder of George Floyd, an unarmed black.

“Now I know a lot of you at home will reach for your remote when you feel like Hollywood is preaching to you, but as a mother of a black son, I know the fear so many live with and no, the amount of fame or wealth changes that, “she said.

Then there are the nominees themselves. Nielsen’s data shows that more people were hired in the years that certain, more commercially popular films were nominated. The 2019 ceremony, which reached 29.6 million viewers, became nominees from popular films such as “Black Panther”, “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse”, “Bohemian Rhapsody” and “A Star is Born”.

Even a decade ago, when Avatar, Up, Inglorious Basterds, District 9, The Hurt Locker and The Blind Side were nominated for best picture, ratings reached 41.6 million.

Of course, there is a chance that people might watch these awards shows, but they might see the programs differently. The Nielsen data does not include numbers for viewers who have chosen to watch one of the top awards shows on streaming platforms.

Dan Rayburn, a media and streaming analyst, said one obstacle is that the streaming industry has not yet agreed on a set definition of viewer. Each streaming service has a different method of reporting how many people have seen a particular movie, TV show, or live program. This can make it difficult to make comparisons between platforms and between those platforms and traditional cable providers.

Oscars 2021 coverage by CNBC

Read more about this year’s Academy Awards:

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First spherical of the 2021 NFL Draft attracted 12.6 million viewers

First round of the 2021 NFL Draft attracted 12.6 million viewers

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announces Kwity Paye as the 21st selection of the Indianapolis Colts during the first round of the 2021 NFL draft at the Great Lakes Science Center in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Gregory Shamus / Getty Images)

Gregory Shamus | Getty Images Sports | Getty Images

The National Football League’s opening night for its annual draft event drew an average of 12.6 million viewers across three networks, including ESPN and ABC.

It didn’t beat last year’s all-time high of 15.5 million viewers, but it’s up 11 percent from the 2019 draft (11.4 million). Before last year, the all-time high in 2014 was 12.4 million viewers. The 2020 NFL Draft was a purely virtual event due to Covid-19.

The Jacksonville Jaguars drafted ex-Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence with the first overall pick of 2021, followed by the New York Jets who took BYU’s Zach Wilson. A total of five quarterbacks and 18 offensive players were selected in the first round. It’s the most since teams drafted 19 offensive players in 2009.

This year’s draft reverted to a live event format for public reasons in Cleveland. A vaccinated Roger Gooddell hugged players who were drafted, and the NFL commissioner was also accompanied by a fan on stage for each selection.

Las Vegas is selected to host the NFL draft in 2022. The draft of the event was originally scheduled in the city last April but has been canceled due to the pandemic.

Ja’Marr Chase, Trey Lance, Kyle Pitts and Rashawn Slater stand on stage ahead of the start of the first round of the 2021 NFL draft at the Great Lakes Science Center in Cleveland, Ohio.

Gregory Shamus | Getty Images Sports | Getty Images

The draft for 2021 continues on Friday with rounds two and three. The remaining rounds (four to seven) are planned for Saturday. The draft will air on Disney Homes ABC and ESPN, as well as the league’s NFL network.

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President Biden’s first formal tackle drew practically 27 million viewers.

President Biden’s first formal address drew nearly 27 million viewers.

Almost 27 million people watched President Biden’s first official address at a joint congressional session on Wednesday evening, to a large television audience these days but a much smaller audience than similar speeches by other presidents, according to Nielsen’s data.

The speech, which aired on all major networks and cable news networks starting at 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time, attracted a much larger television audience than the Oscars program, which aired on ABC on Sunday and was watched by approximately 10 million people. The audience, however, was significantly smaller than that for President Donald J. Trump’s first official address to Congress in 2017, which was attended by 48 million people.

The television audience for Mr. Biden’s address also lagged behind that for equivalent speeches from other recent presidents. Barack Obama had an audience of 52 million in 2009; George W. Bush pulled 40 million in 2001; and Bill Clinton’s first address was seen by 67 million in 1993.

Several factors contributed to the lower ratings. Due to public health and safety concerns at the Capitol, Mr. Biden’s speech came later in his presidency than that of his youngest predecessors, all of which took place in February. There was also less pomp on Wednesday. Instead of a personal audience of 1,600 Senators, Supreme Court justices, and other dignitaries who sat on the cheek with members of the House of Representatives, only 200 people were in attendance due to socially distant restrictions.

TV audience ratings have generally declined in recent years as more people have canceled cable subscriptions in favor of streaming, a shift accelerated by pandemic viewing habits. And the number of people watching TV in spring tends to be lower compared to winter.

According to Nielsen, ABC had the largest audience for the address at around 4 million viewers, and MSNBC was right behind at 3.9 million. Fox News and the Fox Broadcasting Networks had the smallest audience with 2.9 million viewers (Fox News) and 1.6 million viewers (Fox Broadcast).

The Fox audience stepped in for post-anchor analysis and commentators and the Republican counter-argument from South Carolina Senator Tim Scott. In the 30 minutes following the address, Fox News was the only network with an increase in viewership, averaging 3.2 million viewers.

The analysis of the language was different depending on the network. Fox News agent Ben Domenech called Mr. Biden’s speech a “handkerchief of lies”. On MSNBC, anchor Brian Williams referred to it as “Rooseveltian in size and girth”.

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Ellen DeGeneres Loses 1 Million Viewers After Apologies for Poisonous Office

Ellen DeGeneres Loses 1 Million Viewers After Apologies for Toxic Workplace

Ms. DeGeneres’ public perception began to change in July when BuzzFeed reported that several former and current employees of the show said they encountered “racism, fear and intimidation” on the set. Several employees also said the producers sexually molested them. Warner Bros. examined the workplace and found “deficiencies”. Three senior producers were sacked, including Ed Glavin, an executive producer; Jonathan Norman, co-executive producer; and Kevin Leman, the chief writer. Ms. DeGeneres apologized to her staff before addressing her viewers in September.

Some observers believe the allegations may have weakened Ms. DeGeneres’ relationship with her audience. The presenter built her show as an oasis of the outside world, as a place of silly dancing, easy jokes, gifts of money for surprised viewers and prominent guests with high performance. A few years ago, she adopted the “be friendly” slogan in response to the suicide of Tyler Clementi, a gay college student who took his own life after being bullied.

“Not only is your brand pretty nice – it’s ‘Be Kind,'” said Stephen Galloway, dean of Chapman University’s Dodge College of Film and Media Arts. “She chose two words to stamp herself. You can’t let hypocrisy define any better than having selected these two words to define yourself and everyone will see the opposite is true on your show.

“The reason the incident with the producers was so difficult and dangerous is because for the first time something appeared to suggest that a family – Ellen’s own professional family – is no longer working,” he continued.

Ms. DeGeneres referred to her motto in her apology. “To be known as the Be Kind Lady is a difficult position,” she said. “So let me give you some advice. If someone is thinking of changing their title or giving themselves a nickname, then don’t go with the Be Kind Lady. “She added that she was indeed the happy person she appeared to be on TV, but also someone who experienced moments of sadness, fear and impatience.

In addition to her daily show, Ms. DeGeneres is also a prime-time star for NBC – and her show for that network, “Ellen’s Game of Games,” also a Warner production, has lost 32 percent of its viewers and 35 percent in adulthood this season Demographics that matter to advertisers.

Despite the complications affecting all talk shows during the pandemic, “Ellen” has seen a bigger drop than its rivals, losing 43 percent of the audience. Dr. Phil is down 22 percent and The Kelly Clarkson show is down 26 percent. Kelly Ripa and Ryan Seacrest’s show is down 3 percent and Tamron Hall is down 9 percent .

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Oprah, Meghan and Harry Draw 17.1 Million Viewers to CBS

Oprah, Meghan and Harry Draw 17.1 Million Viewers to CBS

Since then, the rise of digital media and its infinite screen time options have deeply struck the power of the major broadcasters. As audiences splintered, prime-time interview opportunities that had to be seen became more and more rare. Even the greatest lone fighters of the last few years lacked the character power of the specials from two decades ago and more. The 17.1 million audience for Ms. Winfrey’s interview with Ms. Markle and Prince Harry matched the number of viewers who tuned in when Caitlyn Jenner revealed that on a 2015 episode of ABC’s “20/20” she was transgender for Ms. Sawyer.

The Sunday night special was unusual in that it was not overseen by a network news department. Ms. Winfrey’s company, Harpo Productions, produced it, and CBS paid at least $ 7 million to license the show, according to one person with knowledge of the arrangement. (The Wall Street Journal previously reported the number.) The deal was also a gamble: it was taped after the network bought the rights, according to two people who knew how the show was made. During the interview, Ms. Winfrey said she had been trying to land the exclusive with the couple for about three years.

Despite Ms. Winfrey’s rocky experience, CBS was named a winner at 60 Minutes, where she made a special contribution in 2017 and 2018. In a 2019 interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Ms. Winfrey revealed that the show’s producers criticized her delivery. She said she had “too much emotion” in her voice even when she said her own name. (Ms. Winfrey was connected to the network through good friend Gayle King, an anchor on CBS This Morning, and appeared on that show on Monday.)

Another complication in CBS’s attempt to achieve the great success was the thicket of media outlets that surrounded Ms. Winfrey and the former royal couple. Ms. Winfrey has her own cable network, OWN, and is an important part of the AppleTV + streaming platform. The most recent episodes of Apple’s “The Oprah Conversation” featured her interviews with Barack Obama, Dolly Parton and Mariah Carey.

Ms. Markle and Prince Harry signed a multi-year deal with Netflix last year to direct documentaries and other shows. They also signed up to create podcasts for Spotify and released the first episode on December 29th. It included guest appearances by Elton John, Tyler Perry, and other celebrities, as well as the first public statement by her son Archie.

The pact between CBS and Harpo Productions mainly focused on TV rights. The interview ran live on ViacomCBS’s newly renamed streaming service, Paramount +; For now, at least, it won’t be available for on-demand viewing on Paramount +. Instead, the special will be available on CBS.com and the CBS app for 30 days, a CBS spokesperson said.

Originally played for 90 minutes, a two hour show ended. CBS released teaser clips prior to airing, and British tabloids unfriendly to Ms. Markle shot back with anonymized articles about her apparent misdeeds.

The estimate of 17.1 million viewers won’t grow until after Nielsen tabulates a few viewers who streamed the special, as well as the off-home ad.

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As Trump Reels, Fox Information Has a Message for Viewers: Stick With Us

As Trump Reels, Fox News Has a Message for Viewers: Stick With Us

Tucker Carlson, its president, his cable network at a crossroads, started his show Thursday night and asked a question that has been repeated for weeks among anchors and producers at Fox News: “What will life be like for us on January 21st? ”

“Who’s got your concerns in mind? Who wakes up in the middle of the night worried about your family? “Mr. Carlson asked his flock, admitting that Mr. Trump would be gone in two weeks,” and we can’t help it. “

“The rest of us – and that is the key – will still be here,” he continued. “We have nowhere to go.”

The impending end of the Trump presidency has presented the hugely popular, hugely profitable Fox News – the crown jewel of Rupert Murdoch’s American empire – with a challenge whose right-wing stars have tied more closely to Mr. Trump than any other mainstream pundit over the last four years.

Prime-time hosts such as Mr. Carlson and Sean Hannity spoke grimly about possible election fraud and irregularities. But privately, high-profile figures on the network admitted that it was difficult to pull the needle between the president’s false (and potentially defamatory) fraud claims and the demands of an audience that is growing, given the discrepancies between Mr. Trump’s lies and coverage of Fox Confused was news that Joseph R. Biden Jr. was elected President on November 7th.

Fox News executives are unimpressed by the lamentations of liberal critics, but the migration of conservative viewers to frayier pro-Trump outlets like Newsmax has been more worrying. The prospect of Trump TV, a competing media company run by the president himself, also loomed.

Now, after the violence in the Capitol and Mr. Trump’s increasing isolation within his own party, Fox News is finding a way forward: Sympathize with the complaints of a Trump-loving audience who have finally acknowledged that their bleachers have fallen. Become a secure MAGA room.

“Tens of millions of Americans don’t stand a chance. You are about to be crushed by the ascendant left, ”claimed Mr. Carlson. “These people need a defense attorney. You need a defense attorney. “It wasn’t hard to deduce who he had in mind.

Expecting a U-turn from Fox News – or an apology as some liberals may dream – has not studied its history or that of its owner, Mr Murdoch, whose ability to adapt to political change is only matched by his reluctance to face Kowtow to critics.

With the Democrats coming to power in Washington, Fox News pundits are kicking out the old hits. In his Friday program, which aired shortly after Twitter announced that it had banned the president from his platform, Hannity promised more broadly to “expose the breathtaking hypocrisy of the Democrats and the media mob”. He attacked well-known Fox News bad guys like the Clintons, Obamas, Madonna and comedian Kathy Griffin. It could have been a repeat from 2014. (Mr. Hannity had actually pre-recorded his 9pm show a few hours earlier.)

Taking advantage of the news that Twitter had closed Mr. Trump’s account, Mr. Carlson, who was live on Friday, warned viewers that “America’s civil liberties are imminent” and portrayed liberals as hell-bent on silencing conservative views bring to. But he only uttered the word “Trump” twice over the entire hour.

It took a moment for the Fox News hosts to recalibrate after the week’s shocking and violent events.

Several network stars, notably host Laura Ingraham and political analyst Brit Hume, spread an unsubstantiated theory that left activists – not Trump supporters – were responsible for the violence in the Capitol. (Ms. Ingraham later tweeted a debunking of the theory.) A guest on Mr. Carlson’s Wednesday show made the same unsubstantiated claim about the infiltration of Antifa without the host pushing it back. And news anchor Martha MacCallum initially compared the siege at the heart of American democracy to a minor graffiti incident in the home of a Republican senator.

The transition of the president

Updated

Jan. 8, 2021, 10:32 p.m. ET

There were cracks in the firmament on Thursday amid a spate of resignations at the White House and a growing chorus of Republicans declaring it was time for Mr. Trump to leave. “Raising a Trump flag and removing the American flag is not patriotic – it was one of the worst things I’ve ever seen,” said Brian Kilmeade on Fox & Friends. The false rumors of Antifa involvement were recalled and the hosts criticized the violence in Washington.

Still, no prime-time Fox News star has blamed Mr. Trump for his role in sparking the riot at the Capitol. And instead of counting on years of support from Mr. Trump and giving consolation to his supporters, the network’s commentators have simply turned and found new ways to achieve old goals. In the Fox News universe, Mr. Biden is now a socialist ready to change the American way of life. And many hosts have drawn a direct correspondence between the storming of the Capitol by an anti-democratic mob and the Black Lives Matters protests in support of racial justice that summer.

As repugnant as such rhetoric may be to liberals, it is part of a formula that Fox News, which remains the profit engine of Mr. Murdoch’s Fox Corporation, has seldom failed.

The network’s ratings fell after Election Day and it has fallen heavily in ratings to CNN since the Capitol uprising. But in 2020, Fox News was the third busiest network in the country on weekday prime-time. It wasn’t just cable news; It was all television. Only CBS and NBC ranked higher.

Fox News’ biggest stars, meanwhile, remain in place. Ms. Ingraham announced a new multi-year contract in December, and Mr. Carlson and Mr. Hannity also have long-term contracts, according to someone who knows the ins and outs of the network. With all the hype surrounding Newsmax, ratings have dropped from their highs after the election.

And if Mr Murdoch ever feels the need to distance himself more formally from Mr Trump, he has other platforms on which to do so. In November another Murdoch organ, the New York Post, announced Mr Biden’s victory on a cheery front page. After the Capitol riots this week, Murdoch’s own Wall Street Journal called for Mr. Trump to resign.

Mr. Murdoch and his son Lachlan, who is the chief executive officer of Fox Corporation, had no comment, a representative said.

Trump TV, which could have been a significant challenge for Fox News in 2021, now appears to be less of a threat. Industry experts say the reputational damage Mr Trump has sustained as a result of the riots – and his abandonment by allies and donors – has seriously affected his ability to start a viable competitor of Fox News.

“This was not positive news,” said Christopher Ruddy, a confidante of Mr. Trump and CEO of Newsmax.

Starting a new network requires approval from cable dealers like Charter Communications and Comcast (which Mr. Trump happily referred to as “Concast”), companies that may be under heavy public pressure not to partner with Mr. Trump after his presidency.

Even digital news outlets, like the websites of former Fox News stars Bill O’Reilly and Glenn Beck, need help from mainstream tech companies that may be resisting an association with the Trump brand.

“The outlook is now severely limited,” said Christopher Balfe, a conservative media advisor who developed digital platforms for stars like Beck and Megyn Kelly. “You have a real distribution problem. And now that Facebook and Twitter have taken action, they have opened the door to a more comprehensive de-platform. “

Referring to a traditional television station, Mr Balfe said cable operators “weren’t interested before November 6th and they certainly won’t be interested in taking anything from him after January 6th”.

Still, some television veterans say Mr. Trump’s millions of supporters could keep a media broadcast going regardless of corporate concerns.

“There will always be a company willing to make money hosting their service,” said Jonathan Klein, former president of CNN.

Mr. Klein pointed out that Comcast and other cable retailers run Newsmax and One America News “despite the fictions they committed”. Regrettably, he added that the violent events at the Capitol could even serve as a launch pad for a niche media show aimed at audiences who want to hear more from Mr. Trump.

“He might have seen it as his biggest kickoff event,” said Klein.