From The Grammys to The Oscars, awards season always guarantees a huge turnout as millions tune-in to watch their favourite hitmaker or Hollywood star bag a gong for their creative endeavours.
But when that now immortal phrase of glitzy awards shows everywhere, “And the winner is…” is uttered, you don’t expect media platforms themselves to be among the winners.
But Tony Marlow, CMO at LG Ad Solutions, says that’s all changing…
From Beyonce finally bagging the Album of the Year award at The Grammy’s to Adrien Brody’s infamous gum tossing moment at The Oscars – it’s been another eventful period in the annual award show season.
For the media and advertising world, it was a strong reminder that the key awards continue to be mass market events and important cultural moments, attracting massive global audiences.
But the most important development by far is how these award shows have emerged as pioneers in the shift of live event television from linear broadcast to streaming platforms.
The Oscars, for example, made history last week when it was live streamed on Hulu for the first time, alongside its linear broadcast partnership with ABC.
This shift is only going to quicken in the coming months and years, with big implications for brands and how they maximise their campaigns around the awards season. Here’s why…
Awards lead the streaming charge
Along with sports media, award shows are front runners in the race to capture the vast potential of streaming audiences.
Hot on the heels of the Super Bowl’s free live stream on Tubi last month, the Oscars inaugural live streaming on Hulu helped the show record its highest audience in the US in five years.
The awards averaged 19.7 million viewers, with “dramatic growth in younger audiences” and with a significant number watching via digital devices.
Add in the global audience and the ratings are likely to have been considerably higher.
The Grammys meanwhile were live-streamed on various platforms, including Paramount+ and live.grammy.com, along with the Recording Academy’s YouTube, X and Facebook accounts.
In addition, E!’s coverage of the red carpet was streamed on multiple platforms, including DirecTV Stream, Fubo, Hulu + Live TV and Sling.
The growing interest in streaming awards is reflected in research from LG Ad Solutions.
A survey we conducted found 75% of CTV users are interested in watching award shows, with 44% preferring to stream live.
As that figure grows, it wouldn’t be at all surprising to see the exclusive rights to the Oscars being scooped up by a leading streaming platform in the not-too-distant future.
There are rumours Netflix could already be in the running.
Award show fans selectively tune in
Another key trend we’re seeing is audiences becoming less and less likely to sit through an entire award ceremony. Instead, they tend to selectively tune in to certain awards.
Our research found 83% of award show fans take this approach, with the average duration of an award show watched by fans at just 38%.
For advertisers, this more fragmented viewing experience around awards means they should find opportunities across the TV experience to maximise the impact of their campaigns.
The smart TV screen for example isn’t the first touchpoint that TV advertisers think of, but it provides significant opportunities.
It is often the first place many users go to before they watch the awards and a valuable portal for finding information on the show.
We found half of award show fans admit to not knowing when the show is or where to watch it, with 45% getting the information they need from TV advertisements and 38% from their TV home screen.
That creates an opportunity for advertisers to combine CTV and Native to maximise reach through TV ads and the TV Home Screen.
Advertisers should also be prioritising red carpet highlights in their campaigns as much as the ceremony itself.
We found two in three fans plan to watch red carpet pre shows as well as the ceremony, with almost one in five saying they will watch the red carpet highlights only.
Prime moments for luxury brands
Award ceremonies continue to be one of the best mass market events for luxury brands to engage their target audience. Almost 70% of award show fans say they have purchased a luxury product in the last 12 months.
But the rise of CTV adds multiple layers of opportunity for high end brands. Streaming audiences typically like to multitask and use other devices while they’re watching.
That means award show fans can be converted via secondary devices during the show, with ads encouraging viewers to find further information on products – by scanning a QR code in an ad on their smartphone for example.
CTV is a hotbed of innovation in shoppable ad formats. In the coming years, as award shows shift more and more to CTV and streaming platforms, that will create lucrative opportunities.
Amazon Prime, for example, saw huge demand for its interactive ads during last year’s Black Friday NFL game which allow people to shop while they watch.
Imagine if a similar strategy were unveiled for the Grammys or the Oscars… Fashion brands would likely queue around the block.
The biggest prize awaits
The switch from linear to streaming in live television is undoubtedly one of the biggest opportunities for our industry.
Yes, there have been early glitches with the quality of some of the streaming; the feed issues on Hulu with the Oscars last week is a case in point.
But technology is improving all the time, and these kinks will be quickly ironed out.
We are already close to the tipping point when streaming hours will overtake linear TV, bringing disruption and opportunities in equal measure for the media ecosystem.
The advertisers that can rise to the challenge and adapt, will take home the biggest prize of all.