Tony Awards Will Go Virtual In Fall; No Date Set Yet

[Y2kTheNewOldies]

https://deadline.com/2020/08/tony-awards-2020-virtual-ceremony-confirmed-1203019736/

Producers of the Tony Awards said Friday that the 74th annual ceremony to honor the best on Broadway will be presented digitally this year sometime in the fall, with a date and a platform to be announced soon.

The event had been scheduled for June 7 at New York’s Radio City Musical Hall with its usual live broadcast on CBS, but the coronavirus shutdown of Broadway as COVID-19 gripped New York City and the world made it impossible to go forward. Broadway theaters shut their doors March 12, with trade group The Broadway League confirming later in the summer that nothing would reopen before January 2021.

 

[genius]

I’ve always been surprised CBS continues to air the Tony’s to very low ratings but I suppose they are still desperate for content. CBS also aired the Daytime Emmys virtual ceremony back in June for the first time in decade it was aired on broadcast network TV and got three million viewers.

 

[Mediafrog+]

I’ve always been surprised CBS continues to air the Tony’s to very low ratings

While a relatively small group, Tony Awards enthusiasts tend to be upscale people who live in the NYC metro area and can afford to frequently attend Broadway shows, or equally upscale people who live elsewhere but often travel to NYC and include one or more shows in their visit. So small demographic, but lots of money to spend, which makes them attractive to advertisers.

Also people in larger cities around the country will eventually get the travelling version of various Broadway shows, so they want to keep up with what's on the way.

Plus there are viewers who will watch any kind of awards show, regardless of content.

 

[TheBigA]

So small demographic, but lots of money to spend, which makes them attractive to advertisers.

Plus it's a promotable one-time event. Those kinds of things attract a certain group of advertisers who might not be interested in regular programming.

The interest in the Tony Awards goes beyond New York. There are local drama groups and theaters all over the country. The big NY shows will travel around the country.

 

[vchimpanzee]

While a relatively small group, Tony Awards enthusiasts tend to be upscale people who live in the NYC metro area and can afford to frequently attend Broadway shows, or equally upscale people who live elsewhere but often travel to NYC and include one or more shows in their visit. So small demographic, but lots of money to spend, which makes them attractive to advertisers.

Also people in larger cities around the country will eventually get the travelling version of various Broadway shows, so they want to keep up with what's on the way.

I like the traditional musicals and I wish more performances from plays were still done.

Plus there are viewers who will watch any kind of awards show, regardless of content.

That's me. well, not regardless of content. I didn't watch the VMAs.

 

[ftballfan]

I'd almost expect the next Tony's following this special one to be in 2022 or even 2023, as I don't see Broadway reopening until mid to late 2021 because of the production time required to bring everyone back once all social distancing and mask requirements are lifted (which I don't see happening until spring 2021 at the earliest)