Since the first Academy Awards aired on TV in 1953, people around the world have tuned in to see if their favorite artists, actors, and writers will be recognized for their work. The GRAMMY, Oscar, Emmy, and Tony Awards are the most recognized honors in entertainment, and fans eagerly watch to see their favorite celebrities win (or lose) these awards.
However, with the rise of social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and X, how viewers experience these shows has drastically changed. From live updates to killer red-carpet shots, there’s really no need to sit through the whole broadcast anymore. Let’s dive into the reasons why younger audiences are turning away from traditional broadcast coverage.Â
Instant Updates & Reactions
Social media has made us all pretty impatient. With shorter attention spans, it’s hard to sit still for an entire broadcast. Platforms like Instagram and TikTok provide interactive, second-by-second updates, allowing media users to stay completely informed without having to “sit through” an entire broadcast, including the dreadful commercial breaks.
Entertainment pages and accounts, like Rolling Stone on Instagram, share clips and create discussions based on the most recent wins that have been aired, allowing younger audiences to watch an entirely different show on streaming platforms and scroll through Instagram on their phone.Â
Red Carpet Coverage on Digital Platforms
Many enthusiasts of awards shows tend to tune in early for the infamous red carpet, waiting to see their favorite celebrities pose in their wonderful outfits. But why sit through endless interviews with celebrities you might not care about or listen to hosts making their predictions about who will win when you can just scroll on any social media platform and see their outfits instantly? You can even catch fun behind-the-scenes clips, like Cole Walliser’s GlamBOTs, which take slow-mo videos of celebrities and their outfits on the day of the awards show, footage you won’t get on the TV broadcast.
The Future of Awards Show Coverage
Digital media continues to rise as broadcast television continues to decline. Awards shows will soon have to adapt if they want to keep younger generations engaged. Future televised awards shows could feature or include interactive elements, exclusive content only broadcasted, or specific content for social media apps that air after the awards show is over. Short videos and discussions that allow audiences to engage will most likely keep these generations involved and keep award shows themselves relevant.Â
Entertainment platforms have evolved quickly, and audiences now consume media, including award shows, in new ways. These platforms make it easy to watch highlights of the long awards shows (like The GRAMMYs this week, which lasted almost four hours) without having to dedicate that time solely to sitting and paying attention. Younger audiences are beginning to prefer engaging content that is readily at their fingertips rather than passive viewing of the full show.
Though I do believe this calls more on the viewers, as their attention spans have shortened, the award shows themselves need to cater more to these audiences in order to stay relevant in the coming years. The key to keeping these award shows alive is to innovate and embrace social media in our increasingly digital world.
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