It’s no secret that TV award shows are hitting an all time low.
Ratings are down, fans are losing interest, TV in general is slowly losing its popularity, and now, major networks who have historically broadcast awards shows are passing on the opportunity.
One of those networks?
CBS.
After last year’s ACM Awards hit an all time low in television ratings, CBS has declined to renew the Academy of Country Music Awards, who are asking $22 million for the rights to air next year’s show.
That price tag is above the $20 million they paid last year, and when you consider the fact that the ACM Awards has lost nearly half its viewers since 2018, it’s not hard to see why they declined to renew. In fact, they didn’t even offer a counter.
According to The Wrap, Dick Clark Productions, who produces the ACM Awards, is now looking to find another network. The ACMs have been aired on CBS since 1998.
So, what could this mean for the future of award ceremonies?
I assume they’ll be able to find a different network, or drop their price tag to match their declining viewership, but overall, the product needs to get better if they want more people to tune it. It’s that simple.
I mean, this kind of says it all…
Maybe the pandemic has something to do with it, but if viewership has been cut almost in half since 2018, you can’t place that solely on the pandemic. Country fans are starving for real country music… and they sure as shit are not getting it from the radio or the awards shows.
However, the ACM Award are set to return to Las Vegas next year, after a two year run in Nashville.
And if they want a better show, bringing back Alan Jackson was a good start…
