Tonys vs. Oscars

[Wallman2]

Posted: 4/23/21 at 11:19pm

If the Oscars supposedly are headed to very disappointing ratings, what does that portend for the Tonys being carried on a network as a major event?  

[JSquared2]

Posted: 4/23/21 at 11:40pm

One has absolutely nothing to do with the other.

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 4/24/21 at 9:35am

Regardless of the ratings, CBS is a major network and has been airing the Tony Awards for decades.  

Updated On: 4/24/21 at 09:35 AM

[VotePeron]

Posted: 4/24/21 at 12:31pm

Award shows of any kind are going to be facing a reckoning any year now. Ratings each year plummet drastically, and no one seems to be doing anything to change it.

The Oscars once celebrated blockbusters like Titanic and Avatar, which gave people a reason to watch. But those same people aren’t tuning in to see Nomadland win this year.

The Tonys are trickier since they’ve always been a specific breed of niche and constantly rely on film/TV celebrities to draw in viewers. I think a solution is to turn the evening into a celebration of Broadway/NYC theater that happens to feature awards, opposite than how it is now. With the rise of streaming services, I won’t be surprised if the Tonys get shoved exclusively onto Paramount+ as early as this year.

[Scarywarhol]

Posted: 4/24/21 at 3:30pm

I wish the Tonys could go to PBS. I didn't used to think so, because as it's often been said, its the one big pitch Broadway gets to make on national broadcast TV to a wide viewership. But how much does that really matter today? The way that people are exposed to these shows has changed so radically, I don't know how much harm it would do to get fewer eyeballs on the telecast while putting up a show that might actually represent theater. Something that puts a spotlight on what's happening onstage over desperately pandering in sweaty, irrelevant ways to a mostly-imaginary mainstream audience.

[SandyRussell]

Posted: 4/27/21 at 9:00am

I think Scarywarhol has a valid suggestion.  And it makes sense given the lack of interest in Awards shows as one can see from the plummeting of the Oscar ratings.  The Tonys are in a tricky situation in that they are the one major awards organization that didn't give recognition to the artists of 2020 yet-- though they announces the awards would happen in the fall of 2020 last August and the nominations were announced in October they still haven't given a date for the presentation of the Awards, thus increasing diminished interest in an actual ceremony.  The silence on presenting the Tonys (the voting actually concluded in mid-March)  and announcing the results may have devalued the impact of these theatre awards.  And the cost of performing on the Tonys for some productions, a sizable cost, may become less attractive with a lesser viewership, which seems all but guaranteed.   

Posted: 4/27/21 at 10:06am

The flip side is that live programming is one of the few reasons to still watch network TV, so even with declining ratings there is still good reason to air them.

[gypsy101]

Posted: 4/27/21 at 3:51pm

highly doubt either of them will be leaving television anytime soon. ratings for everything have dropped not just award shows.

[Wesman702]

Posted: 4/27/21 at 5:48pm

Have always enjoyed the Tony Awards...but when are they going to air and will there be any interest. These aren't really the 2020 awards...they should call it the 2019 Second Half of the Years Awards.  most of the productions began their life in the late summer/ fall of 2019. .  The delay in announcing the awards is confusing...weren't all the voters requested to have their ballots in by March 15?  It's almost May....

[dramamama611]

Posted: 4/29/21 at 8:54am

The Tonys will happen when the League decides it will be the most opportune.   They would waste the broadcast having it now....with no known date of Bway reopening.  That's what will kick off the return.

 

[Theatrefanboy1]

Posted: 4/29/21 at 9:07am

Well I can say that the people I know who are not in the arts but in the past have enjoyed watching both the shows for their dazzle and performances. The number of people who have told me they no longer have interest in watching them the moment They get political. Most no longer watch them. And on Sunday the few who did tune in apparently shut it off with in 15 minutes from some comment.

It was no surprise the floundering viewership. Not sure if the Tonys will have a similar take. But eventually it wouldn’t surprise me if they just began live streams and that’s it

[James885]

Posted: 4/29/21 at 12:50pm

I agree that it makes absolutely no sense to hold the Tonys now when there's no firm date for when Broadway will be reopening.

As for the Oscars, it's no surprise ratings were down; the ratings for all the award shows this season have been way down across the board - I wouldn't expect the Tonys to be any different whenever they do finally air.

Personally, I think the heyday of award shows might be over. Most people I know outside the TV/Film/ Theatre industry don't watch because they don't know the movies/tv shows/ plays & musicals nominated. There definitely are also a segment of people who are very turned off by all the political grandstanding and lecturing, regardless of whether or not the grandstanding is for the right reasons. 

Actually I think this years Tonys should take a page from the Grammys and make the telecast less about the awards and more about the performances.

Updated On: 4/29/21 at 12:50 PM