OSCARS ENCROACH ON GRAMMY TURF

Two years from now, the Academy Awards will held on 2/9, AMPAS announced today, moving it a full four weeks earlier than usual. That second Sunday in February, however, has been a goldmine for the Grammy Awards.

The Grammys have already spent years dodging the Super Bowl, the Olympics and Presidents’ Day, and the Oscars are presenting yet another scheduling SNAFU. Next year, the Grammys are scheduled for 2/10; this year, they were held on 1/28 to accommodate the move to New York and, of course, the Winter Olympics. The shift resulted in a condensed voting period—three weeks prior to Christmas instead of the four weeks that run from mid-December into January.

This year, nominations will be announced on 12/5 and ballots will be out from 12/13-1/9 giving Ken Ehrlich and his team more than two months to book the show. (Of course, it occurs when every decision-maker has flown to Seychelles and the Maldives, but that’s another issue).

Looking ahead, Super Bowl LIV will be played 2/2/20 and televised by Fox. With the Oscars on the ninth—it was previously set for 2/23—do the Grammys dare return to the Presidents Day weekend as they did in 2016, a telecast that received the show’s lowest ratings since 2009? Or do they keep the voting to a three-week window in December, pull the telecast out of the February sweeps and air in January, as is done in years it would compete with the Winter Olympics? Fortunately, they don't need to worry about pentathletes or the luge until 2022. Stay tuned.