AMPAS Chief Bill Kramer Believes Next Oscars TV Deal Will Be “Very Lucrative” – With Or Without Disney-ABC

deadline.com:

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences CEO Bill Kramer called Disney-ABC an “amazing partner” but said he is “confident that our next deal for the Oscars will be very lucrative” regardless of who secures the rights.

Speaking on a panel at the FT Business of Entertainment Summit, Kramer said he has spearheaded an effort to diversify the Academy’s sources of revenue well beyond TV rights. “Like any healthy organization, we need diverse revenue to sustain our operations,” he said. “So much of the money that comes in is tied to our deal with Disney/ABC for the Oscars telecast.” Since being named CEO in 2022, Kramer said the organization has been “thinking about how we go beyond just being known for the Oscars” and “defining our metric for success beyond one night on linear television.” Newer horizons, he said, include “bringing revenue into the Academy through our museum, which has opened up a lot of philanthropic doors for us”; and “really maximizing our relationships” to drive more year-round interest in events and Academy content.

In 2016, the Academy and Disney-ABC extended their rights deal, which had been due to expire in 2020, for another eight years.

ABC has aired the Oscars since 1976. While the most recent Oscars, held last March, drew a four-year high of 19.5 million viewers, tune-in has diminished markedly since the show’s heyday for various reasons.