Thursday, March 28, 2024

People’s Choice Awards Loses 25% of Audience–Too Many Faux Shows Killing Audience

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No one ever took the People’s Choice Awards. But they were always a ratings getter. Last year they were way up over 2013. The reason was that they were like a back-to-school end of the holidays event. If you wanted to, you could see some stars get dressed up and parade around as a New Years pick me up.

But now? Last night’s People Choice dropped 25% from last year. They lost 2 million viewers from their 2014 high of 10.36 million– and most of them were young. The key demo dropped from 2.4 to 1.8. Ouch! Where did everybody go?

Easy answer: People’s Choice was just preceded by two similarly inane but fun shows: The Hollywood Awards on NBC, and the People Magazine Awards– not to mention the American Music Awards. Most of the same people just appeared on those tinsel-fests. And they didn’t do so well.

The effect, obviously, was meted out to People’s Choice. How many times can you see publicist-orchestrated awards shows where there’s no surprise, everyone gets something, and none of the people deserve it? Apparently last night was one time too many.

So now we come to this Sunday’s Golden Globes, and next Thursday’s Critics Choice Awards on A&E. These at least are the real thing. The winners don’t know who won, and least there’s some drama involved.

Today, there’s a report that some advisory group is worried that the Oscars will have low ratings because most of the movies involved are independent art films. Hogwash. People watch the Oscars because they’re the gold standard. It’s how they’re produced and presented that makes the night.

The Academy’s skill is in making “moments,” and showcasing people who didn’t do the “circuit” all season. The Oscars are Hollywood’s Super Bowl. But maybe it’s time to think about the damage these other shows are doing to the interested audience. You can’t expect people to keep on test driving Hyundais while they’re waiting for the Cadillac.

Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News, where he created the Fox411 column. His movie reviews are carried by Rotten Tomatoes, and he is a member of both the movie and TV branches of the Critics Choice Awards. His articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. He is also the writer and co-producer of "Only the Strong Survive," a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals, directed by DA Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus.
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