Watching Award
Shows
on Television in Latin America
Entertainment awards are given by a number of organizations to recognize individual accomplishments by entertainers during either a fixed time frame (usually a year) or a lifetime. The most popular award shows are televised globally. Here are some of the best known televised award shows in Latin America ---
A typical award show lasts about two to three hours. The show is televised live, which means that it must be scripted carefully to make sure that it is not too long or too short. Of course, some award recipients have been known to give long, rambling speeches, sometimes to promote their own personal agenda (such as speaking of political repression in Tibet). Within the show, multiple awards are given out, usually with the minor awards early on and the major ones (such as The Best Movie of the Year or the Best Recording of the Year) given out at the very end. This sequencing was obviously designed to build up the suspense and maintain interest for the televised program.
The awards are divided into different categories (such as Best Movie, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Director, Best Musical Score, Best Sound Effects, Best Film Adaptation, etc in the case of movies; Best Song, Best Male Singer, Best Female Singer, Best Rock Group, Best Tropical Music Recording, Best Classical Music Recording, etc in the case of music). Within each category, there is a small number of nominations (usually, five) from which the winner will be announced.
The awards are presented by well-known celebrities, who would usually read out the names of the nominees and then open a sealed envelop to reveal the name of the winner. The winners are theoretically selected by some transparent process, such as a secret ballot by the members of the Academy Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in the case of the Oscar awards.
As described so far, there is not much by the way of entertainment within the show itself. The entertainment comes from the performance numbers that are inserted periodically. For example, during the Oscar awards, the viewers may get to see the nominated movie themes performed live by their singers during the course of the evening.
According to the Los Medios y Mercados de Latinoamérica study, 34% of Latin Americans between the ages of 12 and 64 years say that they watch award shows regularly when they are shown.
What are the characteristics of these viewers? The following table shows some of their demographic characteristics. This audience is skewed towards women, and is better educated.
|
Geo-demographic Characteristic |
% Regularly watch award shows |
| Sex/Age Male 12-17 Male 18-24 Male 25-34 Male 35-44 Male 45-54 Male 55-64 Female 12-17 Female 18-24 Female 25-34 Female 35-44 Female 45-54 Female 55-64 |
31% 31% 32% 26% 26% 27% 42% 43% 37% 35% 42% 35% |
| Education (in years) Less than 6 years More than 6, less than 12 years 12 years or more |
26% 33% 41% |
| TOTAL | 34% |
(source: Los Medios y Mercados de Latinoamérica)
The next table gives some of the geodemographic characteristics of these viewers. Award shows are an upper-middle class pre-occupation.
|
Geo-demographic Characteristic |
% Regularly watch award shows |
| Geographical Region Argentina Brazil Chile Colombia Mexico Venezuela Balance of Central America Balance of South America |
33% 34% 26% 28% 34% 40% 36% 33% |
| Major Urban Areas | 38% |
| Socio-economic
Level Level A (Top 10%) Level B (Next 20%) Level C (Next 30%) Level D (Bottom 40%) |
38% 43% 37% 26% |
| TOTAL | 34% |
(source: Los Medios y Mercados de Latinoamérica)
Apart from being an entertainment product itself, the award show also serves to promote the industry and its products. In the case of cinema, a movie which wins awards may enjoy a second life at the box office, for people who missed the movie initially may want to see it now. Actors, actresses and directors who win awards may be able to command higher fees in the future. More generally speaking, the award shows promote greater awareness of the entertainment industry, and reinforce the connection with fans. In the following table, we show that movie-goers are more likely to watch award shows; furthermore, this viewership increases as a function of the frequency of movie attendance.
| % Regularly watch award shows | |
| Went to a movie theater in the last 12 months Frequency of Cinema Attendance Once or more per week 2-3 times or more per month Once per month Less than a month |
44% 49% 45% 45% 42% |
| TOTAL | 34% |
(source: Los Medios y Mercados de Latinoamérica)
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(posted by Roland Soong on 9/22/00)
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