Friday, January 13, 2006

The Oscars Dump Barbara Walters

"The Barbara Walters Special" was a decades-long tradition at the Oscars. But ABC has thrown it out the window, apparently in favor of red carpet gawking and an earlier start time for the awards. This year, "The Barbara Walters Special" will air four days early on Wednesday March 1 at 10 p.m. instead of right before the Oscars. The Oscars air on March 5, the first Sunday available after the Olympics.

Walters herself says in a prepared statement that "being seen earlier in the week gives us much more flexibility than in the past in terms of guests." That makes no sense since all the interviews are taped in advance. How can changing the airdate of a special by a few days conceivably make a guest more available for a taped interview?

The show is certain to be a ratings success anyway, thanks to "Lost" as a lead-in and Walters' star power. But it won't be the same.

2 comments:

Abbe Buck, PA, PR, PM, OM said...

Where will Star Jones Reynolds turn up this year -- she looks awful -- victim of a botched up bypass, I think.

Michael in New York said...

Well, Star is off the Golden Globes Red Carpet this year, I think. E! is using Ryan Seacrest as the face of its channel and he'll be joined by Isaac Mizrahi and Giuliana DePandi. Not sure if she'll be anywhere else, but that gig is over.