Television isn’t dying. It’s already dead.
For generations, broadcast television was the cultural center of gravity. If a moment mattered, it happened live on TV. The Oscars weren’t just an awards show, they were a national event that pulled tens of millions of eyes at once.
Those days are gone.
When the Oscars Owned the Culture
In 1998, the Academy Awards drew more than 57 million television viewers, a testament to its cultural dominance. Nearly one in four Americans with a TV was watching the same thing at the same time.
But by 2025, the Oscars struggled to reach around 19–20 million viewers, with traditional broadcast numbers significantly lower. This represents not just a dip but a collapse.
This Isn’t Adaptation. It’s Admission.
Television no longer controls attention, culture, or relevance. What was once a shared experience has splintered into countless feeds and personalized content.
Awards shows didn’t lose relevance due to poor hosting or nominations; they waned because the medium that once amplified them lost its grip.
The Numbers That Killed Broadcast TV
By 2025, streaming services accounted for about 45% of all U.S. viewing time—outpacing broadcast and cable combined. Broadcast TV now represents around 20% of total viewing, shrinking every quarter.
More than a quarter of Americans no longer watch live television at all, opting instead for clips, feeds, and social media platforms.
Why Award Shows Don’t Matter Anymore
Television’s strength was its communal aspect, where millions would watch together. Today, audiences don’t gather for shared viewing but engage with content in a more personalized manner.
A three-hour awards broadcast simply can’t compete with a digital landscape where relevance is measured in seconds.
Television’s Obituary
So, when legacy institutions abandon traditional broadcast, it’s not innovation; it’s resignation. Audiences have voted with their attention, and television has lost. "imageCaption": "1998 Oscars award winners"
