Disney’s ABC is struggling to sell advertising for its upcoming broadcast of the Academy Awards. Ad space is still available with just two weeks remaining until the awards show, which has suffered a decline in viewership in recent years.
According to a report from Variety, Disney executives have been seeking between $1.7 million to $2.2 million for a 30-second spot in the event. Media buyers told the outlet that they think ABC may still lower its price, as top brands have become increasingly skeptical when it comes to spending top dollar for advertising during awards shows.
Ratings for awards shows have been way down in recent years, with many blaming the incessant injection of politics as a major cause for the decline. In 2019, film director Spike Lee used his acceptance speech to call then-President Trump a “racist” while urging viewers to “be on the right side of history.”
Politically charged speeches are nothing new, though overt political messaging from both hosts and nominees has become common in recent years.
While the Oscars received a slight bump in 2023, drawing 18.7 million viewers while posting the best numbers since 2020, ratings are still way down from their once massive heights. In 1998, which featured “Titanic” as Best Picture winning, the show was watched by a whopping 57 million viewers.
Despite the slight bump in ratings, advertisers scaled back their budget for the show in 2023. Sponsors spent approximately $117.4 million in advertising against 2023’s Oscars broadcast, according to advertiser spending tracker Vivixx. This represented a 15 percent decline from 2022, when sponsors spent $138.9 million on advertising.
The number of ads sold also declined in 2023, when Disney sold 51 individual ads, down from 70 in 2022.
Ratings for awards shows as a whole have declined massively since the late 1990’s. Just last month, the Emmy Awards drew record low viewership, declining to just 4.3 million viewers. The last show to generate more than 10 million viewers came in 2018, when 10.2 million people tuned in.
The Emmys drew more than 20 million viewers in 2000, a height that is unlikely to be replicated.
