Academy Drops Live Audience in Favor of Potential Streaming Audience

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The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences announced, via email, they would be dropping, at least for the upcoming 89th Academy Award announcements, the annual live audience of media, invited guests and publicists in favor of the potential global streaming audience.

The surprising and unexpected statement sent out by the Academy Communications Team explains the change (or shake-up) depending on the interpretation.

The annual gathering, always an exciting time those affiliated with the motion picture industry begins hours earlier at midnight, with the transformation of the Samuel Goldwyn theater to house the hundreds of media, broadcast, print and online journalists, who received credentials to attend the live academy award announcements events which included an 3:00am morning media breakfast, which one can assume is out also.  

Below is the email.

We’ve got exciting news.

To welcome our new class of nominees, several Oscar®-winning and nominated Academy members including Jennifer Hudson, Brie Larson, Emmanuel Lubezki, Jason Reitman and Ken Watanabe will join Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs to reveal the 89th Oscars® Nominations, on Tuesday, January 24, beginning at 5:18 a.m. PST/8:18 a.m. EST/1:18 p.m. GMT/9:18 p.m. CST.

In a departure from our tradition of a live audience at the Academy, this year's nominations will be announced via a global live stream on Oscar.comOscars.org, the Academy’s digital platforms, a satellite feed, and local broadcasters, including "Good Morning America."

To support your coverage, downloads and editorial content for the 24 Oscar award categories will be available on Oscar.com and Oscars.org immediately following the announcement. Satellite coordinates and announcement details will be available in the coming days, including interview opportunities. 

We invite you to celebrate our 89th Academy Awards® with us, and to share in a terrific new Oscar season.

Thank you,
Academy Communications 

Press release altered by Janet Walker with additional content.