Award Show Fatigue

Award shows are mostly three-hour infomercials, and three hours is a long time to keep someone’s attention in 2020. The Emmys just bombed, and the ACM Awards tried hard under difficult circumstances.

Now, four more huge award shows are going down in the next eight weeks: The CMT Music Awards, Billboard Music Awards, CMA Awards and American Music Awards.

The year of the virus has the shows all on top of each other. CMT plans to do epic outdoor performances versus the coffee house mood of the ACMs. CMT will see its show on many of its sister ViacomCBS cable channels, including MTV.

Someone needs some fresh ideas on how to get a young demo especially. The elections are close, and that is a dangerous subject but will be tempting.

The award shows are great for baby acts. CMT plans to showcase more than a dozen.

The prime time NFL games like “Sunday Night Football” seem to be the only ratings guarantee.

The eyeballs are there, but regular broadcast network shows are skewing old and barely break a million young viewers. Getting these shows simulcast live on the internet should be a huge priority. The world is just a more mobile place, and the programming needs to reflect the change.

Streaming just about blew the business plan for the labels, but they adapted. TV and radio owners at the network/chain level know what needs to be done. Just look at NBC’s Peacock and CBS rebranding CBS All Access to Paramount Plus in early 2021. Award shows need to relook at where and how they do business.

The virus has forced these changes to come even faster than any had planned.

Look at the radio changes in the wind and local TV layoffs of some of Nashville’s longtime, familiar faces.

The whole award show concept needs a reboot – interaction, something. If you were able to watch all of the three-hour Emmys as presented, you might need therapy. Ouch! The time is now to rethink this valuable sales tool and marketing showcase.