The Grammy Awards pulled a heavy move last night. They– and CBS– bigfooted NBC and the SAG Awards.
What happened? The Grammys, set for January 31st, without warning moved to March 14th. Unfortunately, that’s the same date long scheduled for the SAG Awards on NBC from the Screen Actors Guild.
Ironically, the Grammys themselves were bigfooted by the Oscars a couple of years ago, when the Academy swooped in and grabbed their usual date, without asking. But this can’t be considered revenge since the Oscars are on ABC.
The Screen Actors Guild isn’t happy. And now we have two big network awards shows on the same night at the same time.
SAG issued a statement that reads:
“We are extremely disappointed to hear of the conflicting date, March 14th, announced today for this year’s Grammy Awards telecast,” the statement begins. “We announced the same date for the SAG Awards last July with the intent to give the greatest possible scheduling consideration for other awards shows. We expect the same consideration from sister organizations throughout the industry.”
The statement continues, “The SAG Awards recognizes outstanding acting performances over the past year. We will again put on a spectacular show that accomplishes that mission. Our two organizations, SAG-AFTRA and the Recording Academy, share members and work together effectively to advocate for artists in many areas. In an environment that is increasingly challenging for televised awards programs, we also have a mutual interest in successfully showcasing the artistry and talent of our respective memberships. We are in contact with the Recording Academy and will continue to work with our sister organizations to find ways to make this year’s awards season as successful as possible.”
Neither of these shows will be presented with a live audience or red carpet, so there’s always that. But why CBS’s Jack Sussman went for this date is a head scratcher. Clearly, SAG had cemented the date a long time ago. The Grammys could have been on the next night, or the next Sunday. Or the prior Sunday. Or on any Weeknd (just kidding).
