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No ceremony for supporting actors

Ashley Milne-Tyte Jan 8, 2008

TEXT OF STORY

Scott Jagow: There seem to be no winners in the Hollywood writers’ strike. The writers aren’t working. Neither are the directors or the grips or the photographers. The studios are losing money. So are the TV networks. Case in point: this Sunday’s Golden Globes. There won’t be any glamorous ceremony; the actors have refused to show up. Instead, there will be a news conference to announce the winners. Not exactly a ratings bonanza. Here’s Ashley Milne-Tyte.


Ashley Milne-Tyte: Awards ceremonies are big business. Advertising revenue can usually bring in $10 [million] to $15 million for the network broadcasting the Golden Globes.

Then there’s the marketing opportunity the ceremony provides. Viewers learn more about movies they haven’t yet seen, then head to theaters. And of course, the Golden Globes drive Oscar buzz. But with no ceremony, how many people will bother to watch?

Brooks Boliek is with the Hollywood Reporter:

Brooks Boliek: You don’t tune in to see some talking-head newscaster, you tune in to see George Clooney. And I mean, you know, Steven Spielberg gonna go and accept his lifetime award to sit on a metal folding chair in some soulless conference room? I seriously doubt it.

Boliek says the organizers may compensate advertisers who have already bought spots during the ceremony by giving them spots on other shows. But with the writers’ strike affecting so many TV shows, he says networks have already had to pay back some advertisers in cash.

I’m Ashley Milne-Tyte for Marketplace.

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