This Sunday, March 6, comedian Jon Stewart is set to host the 78th Academy Awards.
Despite more flattering explanations for his selection as master of ceremonies for the evening, many point to the network's uphill fight to win ratings. Similar to the nation's decreasing interest in watching the Olympics in recent years, this most anticipated award show has an ever-dwindling audience, worrying advertisers and NBC itself. While last year a seemingly massive 42 million Americans tuned in to watch the Oscars, that figure was down 3 million from the previous year. When considered alongside the fact that none of the Best Picture nominees broke $100 million in the box office in 2004, it doesn't seem fair to entirely blame Chris Rock's performance as host for that dip in ratings, but regardless, he has been replaced with Stewart -- whose popularity no one questions.
Young males especially neglected to watch the awards last year, leading many advertisers like L'Oreal and Diet Coke to aim their campaigns at women, who typically comprise two-thirds of the viewership. It seems like no coincidence, however, that in the same year that many American males' favorite TV persona is chosen to host, Miller Beer elected to air ads during the program's eight commercial breaks.
Stewart, of course, offers little serious commentary on his appointment to this great comedic honor, but he does admit that, as he told The New York Times, "for a comedian, it's the ultimate stage." The former stand-up comedian tells reporters he feels welcomed into the ranks of Bob Hope, Billy Crystal and Steve Martin, who all hosted in the past. As he said in his interview, "To get to that point means something. Now you're in the club."
Even with the added and considerable task of hosting one of television's biggest events of the year, Stewart and his writers have continued to work on nightly airings of Comedy Central's "The Daily Show" until this week. With his elite team of writers, Stewart prepares in L.A. for Sunday night. Though aware that his focus will temporarily shifted from the failures of the Bush administration to triumphs of 2005 in Hollywood, the comedian will inevitably let some of his political satire into the show. "I'm hoping that the vice president shoots someone [else], probably around March 3, March 4," Stewart said.
