Oscars to go hostless again in 2020

MUMBAI: Oscars 2020 will come with stars and surprises but no host.

In 2019, the Oscars ceremony was hostless after Kevin Hart stepped down from his hosting duties. Now, ABC has confirmed that the Academy awards will again go hostless this year, reports variety.com.

Karey Burke, the head of ABC Entertainment, confirmed that the upcoming film awards show will have "no traditional host" during her executive session at the Television Critics Association winter press tour on Wednesday.

"We expect that we're going to have a very commercial set of nominations and a lot of incredible elements have come together that make us think we are going to have a very entertaining show again," Burke said when asked why the decision was made to again go hostless.

The official Twitter handle of The Academy confirmed the news with a post, indicating that the show will come with stars, performances and surprises, but no host.

The 2019 Oscars were the first to go hostless since 1989. Hart had originally been announced as the host, but he stepped down just days after the announcement after several of his homophobic tweets were resurfaced.

Last year's Oscars, which drew just under 30 million viewers, saw a slight rise in the ratings from 2018, but still garnered the second smallest audience ever for an Academy Awards telecast.

Voting for the Academy Awards concluded on Tuesday night with the nominations set to be announced on January 13. The awards will be handed out on February 9.