The Oscars broadcast dates are all set through 2022. That seems to be quite a way out, but a lot of planning goes into setting the date for the Academy Awards. Since 1929, the Academy Awards have been held in Los Angeles, CA and they have been televised since 1953. These awards for international cinematic excellence are presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, have been nicknamed the Oscars, and are a staple of Hollywood every year.
The most recent Academy Awards took place on Feb. 24 and had some additional controversy associated with it as the Oscars broadcast went hostless for the first time since 1988 due to complaints of having Kevin Hart host due to statements he had made in the past and his reluctance to apologize for his remarks. It is possible that the Academy may choose to go hostless again in the future as the Oscars ratings actually went up slightly from the previous year to 29.6 million viewers.
Variety reports the announcement came from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences that the 2022 Oscars ceremony will take place on February 27, 2022. It follows previously announced dates for 2020 and 2021 - Feb. 9 and Feb. 28, respectively. All three events will be broadcast at 5 p.m. PT/ 8 p.m. ET on ABC and in more than 225 countries and territories globally.
Selecting the dates can be challenging as there are holidays, Super Bowl and special events such as the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing to consider, however, critics of the Oscars have been reporting that the show is out of touch with what moviegoers actually like to see. When popular films are nominated, the ratings tend to be better. The highest ratings to date were in in 1998 during the 70th Academy Awards when Titanic took the best picture honor and over 57.25 million viewers tuned in to check it out. Still, those who enjoy celebrity spotting and fashion still get a kick out of tuning in year after year.
The Academy Awards celebrate achievements in film for the previous year, and typically airs in February or March. The 2022 date, falls in the same general time frame as is typical in recent years, with 2020 being the major outlier, falling so early on in February. It's unclear how such an early date may affect the Academy Awards' ratings, but it also appears not to be a new trend since the 2021 and 2022 dates return to late February.
As for the future of the awards ceremony, it will be interesting to see if the format of the Academy Awards goes back to a hosted or unhosted event, or if the nominated films reflect what people are actually watching. Still, it is good to know that the next three years are already set for the Oscars.
Source: Variety