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Seth Rogen says nobody cares about the Oscars anymore

Seth Rogen doesn’t care about The Oscars and says nobody else does either.

Seth Rogen doesn’t think the Oscars’ diminishing popularity is a problem: “I don’t get why movie people care so much if other people care what awards we give ourselves”, he told Insider while chatting about his Lays’ potato chips commercial, which features Paul Rudd.

The Pam & Tommy actor brazenly stated, “to me, maybe people just don’t care. I don’t care who wins the automobile awards. No other industry expects everyone to care about what awards they shower upon themselves. Maybe people just don’t care. Maybe they did for a while, and they stopped caring. And why should they?”.

Oscars’ TV audience declines. Credit: Nielsen Statistics

Rogen’s comments come amidst dwindling public interest in the award ceremonies’ self-congratulatory glitz and glamour.

Oscar viewership has more than halved from 41.62 million viewers in 2010 to 9.85 million in 2021, a pattern common across the Emmys, Globes and Grammys, because of the pandemic. But even before COVID, Oscar viewership has seen a steady decline.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences relies on the Oscars broadcast for ad revenue, with a smaller viewership meaning less valuable ad space.

The 2020 Oscars, which saw Bong Joon Ho’s Parasite make history as the first foreign film to win ‘Best Picture’, brought in a whopping $131.9 million in revenue for the Academy.

Over the years, the Oscars have mixed up their formula in attempts to stimulate public interest. The Oscars will reinstate an emcee for the first time since 2018’s ceremony, which was helmed by late-night TV host Jimmy Kimmel. This year’s host is yet to be announced, but favourites include Steve Martin with Martin Short and Tom Holland with Tiffany Haddish.

Perhaps the Oscars diminishing popularity comes due to the streaming-dominated media landscape? With streaming subscriptions on the rise maybe next year they can sell the televising rights to Netflix with a stoned Seth Rogen as host.