The love-hate relationship with the Oscars is why the ceremony endures as a TV event

Los Angeles Times

"Here’s what I know about the Oscars: They are more than 90 years old and they are still driving," says Mary McNamara. "Thirty million people may be a fraction of glory-days viewership, but the glory days are gone, for everyone, and in this time of fractured audiences and multiple platforms that is still a hell of a lot of viewers. And whether you agree with the choice of each winner, or the general preferences/limitations of the academy voters, or the notion of awards at all, an Oscar, for better and worse, is still the most recognizable and referenced honor in the world (and it doesn’t even come with a cash award). Everyone wants to win an Oscar because it is a two-syllable shorthand for success and prestige. Why else would Netflix, a company that is literally based on blowing up the financial and spiritual tenets of the film industry, be campaigning so hard to win best picture? Not because it’s irrelevant. The Oscars are all the things fans and critics think they are, and those conflicting opinions are proof of the award’s endurance. When no one cares enough to launch a hashtag campaign or publicly protest an omission or “undeserving” win, we can talk irrelevance. As for now, well, it’s been almost a century since roughly 250 filmmakers gathered in the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel to celebrate the year’s achievement in film. Was it a ploy to draw attention to the still nascent film industry? To raise its status and cultural influence? To sell more tickets and increase the wattage of its stars? You bet it was. And, man, did it work."

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• What if the Oscars ceremony was 30 minutes long?: "Here’s how my airtight and entirely feasible plan to condense the ceremony to 30 minutes—or one hour, if we must have commercials—will work," says Gabriella Paiella. "First, structure the evening like the nominations announcement, with two announcers onstage. I’ll leave that decision to the producers, but here are a handful of suggestions I thought of in the last five seconds alone: Rihanna, Stanley Tucci, Michael Stuhlbarg, Al Pacino’s scarf, the depressed child from Marriage Story. The announcers alternate each category, reading all the nominees, followed by the winner. The camera briefly pans to the winner just long enough to capture joy, surprise, Adam Driver resting face, whatever. The 'In Memoriam' segment can still take place halfway through. No speeches. No performances. No banter between presenters. The winners can pick up their statuettes from a folding table in the back on their way out."
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• ABC will air a post-Oscars show hosted by Maria Menounos, Stephen A. Smith and Ben Lyons: Live From Hollywood: After the Awards will air from outside the Governor's Ball following Sunday's ceremony. “My name has always been synonymous with sports," said ESPN's Stephen A. Smith, "and this is a career-crossover move that I have been waiting for: Stephen A. Smith co-hosting Live From Hollywood: After the Awards."