This year's Academy Awards had been held on the first Sunday of March, on the 5th, and various explanations had been given, among which: to allow more breathing room from the increasing number of other awards ceremonies, or to alleviate some pressure from nomination submissions.
Well, for next year's ceremonies, the 79th Annual Academy Awards will be held on February 25, 2007, falling once more in line with tradition. According to CBS News, the reason they had been moved one week this year was to avoid conflict with the end of the Winter Olympics' closing ceremonies (i.e. competition for ratings). As a consequence, nominations will be held earlier than last year.
The ratings for the broadcast of the Annual Academy Awards have been in a decline over the past few years, and the producers tried several tricks to try to breathe life into the show, usually with little success. Usually the most pressure is placed on the choice of host, and there have been new regulations on the length of acceptance speeches, as well as reducing the number of awards presented on the show itself. There has been no news so far on who will be hosting next year's show.
