ABC wants the Oscars moved to March

Claiming concern that the February 2009 transition to HD will leave many viewers in analogue limbo and staring at static on Oscar night, ABC wants to move the Oscars to March. Variety says:

The Oscars are set to be broadcast from the Kodak Theater on Sunday, Feb. 22 ‚Äî just five days after the country‚Äôs much-ballyhooed transition to digital TV takes place…

That’s why, insiders confirm, the Alphabet web had been hoping to move the Academy Awards back into March, even though the awards season has been moving earlier and earlier in recent years. Next year’s Golden Globes, for example, are set to air Jan. 11 — the show’s earliest date yet.

Buried deeper in paragraph 5, the reason for ABC’s anxiety is better explained:

A one-time push of the Oscarcast into March would help ABC avoid any transition-related hiccup — and at the same time keep the kudos inside a sweeps month. Nielsen Media Research has already moved next February’s sweeps period to March in order to give stations time to iron out any digital transition problems.

Sure, ABC/Disney wants everybody to see WALL-E win Best Animated Feature, but mainly they want to keep their big event safely inside the adjusted sweeps month calendar