The exit of Chief Oscars Officer Teni Melidonian this week is a sign of just how much the motion picture academy feels it needs to shed its old ways in a new era that hopes to arrest years of declining viewership through a massive new deal with YouTube.
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences CEO Bill Kramer said as much when he announced the change: “I know that change can be challenging,” he said. “It is critical that we align our teams in a way that supports both our immediate priorities and our long-term vision.”
Melidonian, who started with the Academy more than 20 years ago in the publicity department, was promoted only in 2024 to head Oscars ad sales, marketing, advertising and audience growth. She was a key liaison to the old guard, leading the relationship with Disney/ABC, the Academy’s longtime broadcast distribution partner.
A deal with YouTube, estimated at $100 million per year to the Academy, suggests a different team is needed. Melidonian’s role has been eliminated, with Awards Production/Special Events and Talent Relations being absorbed by Jennifer Davidson, who leads the Marketing, Communication and Content team. Kramer called the move a simple matter of restructuring, an effort to support “both our immediate priorities and our long-term vision.”
But the change is part of a pattern of purging legacy executives. Over the past 15 years since longtime executive director Bruce Davis retired in 2011, the Academy has been systematically moving away from its longest-serving employees as it has made big changes in the organization and the membership while battling the declining ratings for the Oscar show.
It is now facing a huge change after the 100th Oscars in 2028, as the telecast then moves from ABC to YouTube and from the Dolby Theater to LA Live. Somebody like Melidonian, who has served as the lead liaison to Disney and ABC and has decades of experience on the Oscars show as it was, may not seem as valuable as the Academy looks to come up with a new YouTube version of the big show.
At many times over the past decade and a half, the Academy has seemingly tried to get rid of the institutional memory on which it used to run, perhaps seeing that as what brought them #OscarsSoWhite and ratings that declined so sharply that they could no longer count on a TV deal that would deliver them $100 million a year.
With a new platform, a new home and more categories, there will likely be dramatic changes within the next three years – so perhaps leadership felt a new structure was needed to implement those changes.
One longtime Academy member said that Melidonian’s departure is part of an effort to purge the organization of people with “institutional knowledge.”
For an organization built around preservation, especially with the launch of the Academy Museum in Los Angeles, that may sound odd. But in 2024, it laid off 16 employees in its archive and library, including the head of preservation. The Academy, once set in its ways and heavily resistant to change, has had to battle controversy and ratings decline as it rockets into the digital age.
Out with the old…
Melidonian may be a victim of the changing of telecast hands as the Academy tries to embrace modernity over tradition.
“The Academy is part of two worlds that are rapidly evolving — the film industry and the non-profit arts community,” Kramer said at the time. “We are working hard to stay focused on our mission while addressing this pivotal moment. And while we know how difficult these moments can be, we are confident in our steps to shape a sustainable organization that is well-suited to meet our goals now and in the future.”
Kramer has been CEO of the Academy since 2022, taking over for Dawn Hudson. Hudson became the organization’s first CEO in 2011, the same year that longtime executive director Bruce Davis retired.
Since then, the organization has made a few moves to shake up the Academy. Hudson was herself at the center of several diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives to bring the organization into the modern era, responding to criticisms like the #OscarsSoWhite campaign. Hudson spearheaded a massive membership expansion that led to the increased presence of international nominees in above-the-line categories.
“Everyone in this institution understands the legacy of the Oscar,” Hudson told the LA Times in 2019, months before “Parasite” would become the first non-English-language film to win Best Picture. “The Academy grew up around a cozy club that was the center of the universe, and it was wonderful — if you were part of that club. We are still an exclusive club, we’re just not an exclusionary club.”
These initiatives have worked in the Academy’s favor, helping the organization move forward from the controversy that plagued broadcasts in the mid-2010s. But as it nears the 100th Oscars ceremony, AMPAS still faces the battle of declining viewership.
…and in with the new
The 98th Academy Awards had some heavy hitters up for big awards, with “One Battle After Another” and “Sinners” — films that respectively yielded $213 million and $370 million at the global box office — duking it out for the top prizes. These were far from the stuffy, underseen nominees that Oscars skeptics like to say fill the Best Picture lineup year after year.
But the blockbuster battle didn’t help bring new viewers into the Oscars. In March, Nielsen placed the 98th Academy Awards at 17.86 million viewers across ABC and Hulu, a 9% decrease from the previous year’s 19.69 million. The ceremony ended some year-over-year growth the awards show had seen after the dark days of post-pandemic viewership.
Similar effects were felt across awards shows, with the Grammys and the Golden Globes facing declines in ratings from 2025 to 2026. These shows are likewise a far cry from their pre-pandemic, pre-streaming numbers.
But now the Academy lies on the cusp of a clean slate, with only two more ceremonies left between the ABC days and YouTube’s takeover. Despite leaving her full-time role, Melidonian will remain on for another year as a consultant providing guidance during the changeover.
