After Slide, Is Oscar Still Enough Of A Ladies' Man?

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It’s been dubbed the Super Bowl for women, but some ad executives claim that the annual Academy Awards show’s dominance as a magnet for female viewers has diminished of late.

Ratings have seen a double-digit decline overall during the past five telecasts, and this year’s Oscars presentation—airing Feb. 27 on ABC—isn’t likely to make up much of the lost ground, according to executives.

The factors at work: no blockbuster films among the nominees for best picture, coupled with a first-time host, Chris Rock, whose harder-edged brand of comedy isn’t likely to play as broadly as the warm and fuzzy (and somewhat more family friendly) Billy Crystal.

Last year’s telecast—with Crystal as host and one of the biggest blockbusters of all time, Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, as best picture—was the first Oscars show in six years to show an upward bump in the ratings.





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