ABC Television Entertainment has on Wednesday announced that the 2020 Oscars Awards ceremony set to hold in February will yet again go without a host.
The President of ABC, Karey Burke made the disclosure while addressing the press, saying Let me confirm it now. Together with the Academy (of Motion Pictures), we have decided there will be no traditional host again this year.”
Burke said the decision to go host-less for the second time was following the positive reviews of last year's event featuring legendary rock band 'Queen' as the opening act. This rose viewer ratings to 29.6 million in the US, overturning a 4 year low in ratings for the ABC event.
She explained that organisers figured “repeating what worked for us last year - huge entertainment value, big musical numbers, big comedy.”
“A lot of incredible elements have already come together and convinced us that we are going to have an incredibly entertaining show again,” she added.
Meanwhile, 2020 Oscar nominations are scheduled to be announced on Monday.
The Oscar's host-less gig started when American Comedian, Kevin Hart pulled out of the 2019 Oscars job after being slammed on social media for homophobic tweets he posted years ago. He later apologized.
Hosting awards ceremonies have become a gamble, as comedians like Ricky Gervais who hosted Sunday’s Golden Globes met criticism for being either too harsh, too political, or too soft in their jokes.
(Reuters)
