Oscars could buck award shows ratings' trend

Watch for ratings news this afternoon, because the Oscars could buck the recent trend of awards shows suffering heavy ratings losses.

Why it matters: Awards shows have been big business for decades, with the Oscars as the top draw.

• Last year's Oscars, held at Union Station in downtown Los Angeles rather than its usual Dolby Theatre, fell by more than 50% to 10.4 million viewers — a record low by far.
• Streaming has started to snap up awards shows, too. The Academy of Country Music Awards moved from its longtime home CBS to Amazon this year.

💭 Tim's thought bubble: Even after cutting eight awards from the live broadcast, the Oscars still went 40 minutes over its allotted three-hour runtime.

• Amy Schumer, Wanda Sykes and Regina Hall did a capable job as hosts. A few funny bits and a few others that felt too long.
• The addition of two awards voted by fans — "Oscars Cheer Moment" and "Oscars Fan Favorite" — was even more bizarre than expected. (Pro tip: Never count out Zack Snyder's fans.)
• It was indicative of a show that spent way too many times trying to cater to viewers that probably weren't watching anyway.
• Most memorable moments: Youn Yuh-jung announcing Kotsur won by first signing his name before saying it out loud. The second is the slap heard 'round the world when Will Smith, angry over a Chris Rock joke about wife Jada Pinkett-Smith, walked up to the stage and slapped him in front of a shocked crowd.