The Walt Disney Co. synergy is back at work to build awareness and viewership for this year’s Oscars on ABC — and in turn, drive some of that audience back to its series and properties.
During the Academy Awards — hosted on Sunday by Wanda Sykes, Amy Schumer and Regina Hall — viewers will notice spots for series, with a priority on freshman ABC comedy “Abbott Elementary” and the network’s return of reality competition series “American Idol,” celebrating its 20th anniversary. Hulu priorities include the limited series “The Dropout,” starring Amanda Seyfried, and the new unscripted series “The Kardashians,” which premieres April 14.
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But meanwhile, in the days leading up to this year’s Oscars ceremony, various arms of the Disney behemoth will promote the kudocast in ways such as a fantasy Oscar Pick ‘Em game on ESPN.com; marathons of Oscar-nominated and -winning films through the years on Freeform, FX and FXM; a “Simpsons”-themed Academy Awards marathon on FXX; and various Oscar-themed pop ups at the Disney Parks and on the Disney Cruise Line.
“The Oscars is one of our favorite events of the year across the Walt Disney Company – it’s the Super Bowl of storytelling and we love that we are able to activate across the entire company to help celebrate the best films of the year and the brilliant talent who make them happen,” said Debra OConnell, president, networks, Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution. “Whether we are covering the nominees on ABC News or our owned television stations, going back stage with ‘Live with Kelly and Ryan,’ airing Oscar-themed promotions across our linear networks and streaming platforms, striking a chord with playlists from Disney Music Group, or hosting in-person activations and special treats at our parks and hotels and even a giant Oscar statue in our ESPN studios – just to name a few, our teams are the ultimate movie lovers and we are absolutely united in celebration of Hollywood’s biggest, star-studded night.”
Here’s a full list:
ABC News: Amy Robach and T.J. Holmes host the 3-hour “On The Red Carpet Live! Countdown to the Oscars” (March 27, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. ET/ 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. PT). Robach and Holmes will be accompanied by ABC News correspondent Chris Connelly, ESPN’s Kelley Carter, ABC News reporter Will Ganss and celebrity stylist Joe Zee, as well as Variety’s own Elizabeth Wagmeister and Clayton Davis.
ABC News Live to stream “ABC News Live Presents…On The Red Carpet Live! Countdown to the Oscars” (March 27, 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. ET/ 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. PT)
ABC Owned Television Stations’ “On The Red Carpet Storytellers Spotlight: Oscars Voices”: Airs March 26 during the “On The Red Carpet” Oscar preview show, and March 27 during the Oscars pre-show (5 p.m. to 8 p.m. ET / 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. PT) across ABC nationwide, internationally and available to stream across ABC’s connected TV apps. “The intimate series amplifies the work and voices of historically underrepresented, diverse storytellers in film, television, theater, music, and podcasts,” according to a press release. Spotlighted talent include Oscars executive producer Will Packer, and nominees including Ahmir “Questlove” Thomas (“Summer of Soul”), Lin-Manuel Miranda (“Encanto”) and songwriter Diane Warren (Best Original Song “Somehow You Do” from the movie “Four Good Days” ).
ESPN: Andscape (formerly The Undefeated) plans and Oscars-special themed show for “Another Act with Kelley Carter.” to be published on YouTube and Andscape.com.
Also, “Oscars Pick ‘Em” launches March 22 and ends March 27 at 5 p.m. PT. The free game on ESPN.com, the ESPN App, and the ESPN Fantasy App will serve as a “second screen” experience as players compete by picking who they think will win an Oscar in each of the 23 categories. Highest score will win a grand prize.
Additionally, an Oscars statue will be placed on set of “SportsCenter” LA and “NBA Today” leading into Oscars weekend.
Disney Channel: “Life is Shorts: Oscars 2022,” featuring three Academy Award-winning/nominated shorts from Disney and Pixar (“Bao,” “Burrow” and “Lou”) debuts Friday, March 25 on Disney Channel and Disney XD. Tamron Hall hosts the special, which airs throughout the weekend.
Freeform: Oscar weekend marathon featuring Oscar-winning and -nominated Disney/Pixar movies. The marathon begins Saturday, March 26 at 7 a.m. ET.
FX: Academy Awards Movie Marathon (Friday, March 25, 8 a.m. to 3 a.m.; Saturday, March 26, 7:30 a.m. to 2 a.m.; Sunday, March 27, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. PT. Three days of movies that have already brought home the statue.
FXX: “The Simpsons” Academy Awards Marathon (Saturday, March 26, 10 a.m. to 4 a.m.; Sunday, March 27, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.)
FXM: Airing two episodes of “FXM Presents ft. Oscars 2022,” including interviews with Will Packer and Questlove. Marathons on FXM run all day beginning on Monday, March 21, through Sunday, March 27.
Disney Parks and Disney Cruise Line: Oscars themed chocolate for guests at Disney Hollywood Studios Park; Giant Oscars statue and photo opportunity in lobby of Grand Californian Hotel; Disney Oscars nominated movie screenings at Disney Resorts; Walt Disney World Oscars themed photo opportunity at Disney Springs.
Disney Music Group: Curating playlist highlighting music from current Oscar-nominated movies. This will be available on Spotify, Pandora, Apple Music and Amazon Music.
The 94th Oscars airs Sunday, March 27, at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on ABC.
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