Ratings.
When we were kids, people watched stuff the Oscars, the Grammys, and the Super Bowl because there were only like 8 channels, so it was just what was on. Plus if you didn’t watch it and you missed something good, you’d have no way to ever see it again. As we got more channels, people’s attention spans got shorter, they got more things to do, and the ratings for these big award shows dropped off hardcore.
This year? The Super Bowl became the most watched show in the history of TV (111 million), and the Grammys last night had their best ratings in a decade (27.6 million)
TV should get down on its knees and thank Twitter for being the wind beneath its wings. If you don’t count all the people clamoring to cleverly livetweet the Grammys and discover the next viral sensation, there would be about 30 people watching.
Thanks Twitter: you’ve made us all obsessed with entertainment again, 80s style.
