Combined viewership for the Oscars, Grammy Awards, and Emmys fell to 58 million across all three telecasts in the most recent award season, down from 173 million for the comparable telecasts in 2013. The decline reflects multiple converging factors including fragmentation of the entertainment market across streaming services, declining broadcast television viewership generally, and a widespread sense that the award selection processes have become disconnected from popular taste.
Broadcast networks that pay hundreds of millions of dollars for rights to major award shows are reassessing these investments as younger demographics show virtually no interest in the format. Several studios and streaming services have indicated they will scale back promotional campaigns built around award season, which for decades served as a prestige marketing mechanism for films seeking to expand beyond opening-weekend audiences.
