Here's how to make the Oscars more watchable
CNN
The Academy Awards ceremony is Hollywood's biggest night, and for decades, it was one of the most watched television events each year.
Not anymore. Last year the broadcast experienced record low ratings, bringing in a mere 9.8 million viewers. Just eight years ago, the Oscars nabbed more than 40 million viewers. (The show's all-time high was 55 million in 1998.)
The slump in viewership has prompted the Academy to take some new — and much criticized — steps to make the show more watchable, including cutting big award categories such as original score and editing from the main telecast.
The United States and 16 other countries whose citizens were taken hostage by Hamas on October 7 are set to release a joint statement Thursday calling on Israel and Hamas to come to an agreement on the most recent ceasefire and hostages proposal, according to a US official – marking the latest move in the Biden administration’s push to bring to an end the Israel-Hamas war.