The Academy's board of governors has approved several major changes to the tradition-bound ceremony's format in the hope of retaining the dwindling number of Oscars telecast viewers it still has and luring others back into the fold ahead of the 91st Academy Awards on Feb. 24, 2019. 
 
 Major change is coming to the Oscars. 
 
 On Tuesday night, just five months after the lowest-rated Academy Awards telecast on record (a mere 26.5 million viewers tuned in), the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' board of governors not only re-elected cinematographer John Bailey as its president, but also approved several major changes to the tradition-bound ceremony's format in the hope of retaining the viewers it still has and luring others back into the fold ahead of the 91st Academy Awards on Feb. 24, 2019. 
 
 To address the concerns of those who find the show to be too long and boring (thanks largely to the current existence of 24 competitive awards, of which the general public only cares about a few), Bailey and Academy CEO Dawn Hudson said in a letter to members that the board has "committed to producing an entertaining show in three hours." They explain that this will be achieved partly by "present[ing] select categories live, in the Dolby Theatre, during commercial breaks (categories to be determined)." Those categories will not be removed from the telecast; instead, "the winning moments will then be edited and aired later in the broadcast." 
 
 This new format is similar to the one employed at the Tony Awards, which are annually broadcast on CBS, to recognize some of its lower-profile categories. (The Tonys present those awards and record acceptance speeches of them during a pretelecast portion of the ceremony, rather than during commercial breaks. Presenting them during commercial breaks is probably intended to make nominees in those categories feel more integrated into the heart of the telecast.) 
 
 The fact that this change has been endorsed by the Academy's board of governors, which is dominated by representatives of "below-the-line" branches whose Oscar winners could be impacted by this, is a testament to how dire the situation is, as far as the telecast's ratings. Still, one can safely expect a groundswell of protest from some of the members of those branches. 
 
 At least as important, in terms of improving the ratings of the Oscars telecast for ABC, the Academy also said in its letter that it "will create a new category for outstanding achievement in popular film" in time for the 91st Oscars, adding that "[e]ligibility requirements and other key details will be forthcoming." Some will complain that adding such a category cheapens the prestige of the Oscars, making it more like the People's Choice Awards or MTV Movie & TV Awards, but that is old-world thinking. More than the length of the telecast or the name of the host, Oscar ratings have been shown to correlate with the popularity of the nominated films among the general public. And the gulf between what the public buys tickets to see and what the Academy nominates and awards has never been greater. 
 
 If the popular film award (likely to be nicknamed "the Popcorn Oscar") is implemented in time for the 91st Oscars, then there is little doubt that ratings will improve, since blockbusters like Black Panther, Avengers: Infinity War, Deadpool 2, Mission: Impossible – Fallout, and Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again — and their fan-favorite stars — will be guaranteed a presence at the ceremony. (Black Panther already was expected to seriously contend for competitive nominations and awards, and the Academy confirms, "A single film is eligible for an Oscar in both categories — Outstanding Achievement in Popular Film and the Academy Award for Best Picture.") 
 
 The Academy also notified members that the date for the 92nd Oscars — the one that will take place in 2020, honoring the films of 2019 — has been moved up from the previously announced Feb. 23 to Feb 9. In all likelihood, this is to combat the sense that the Oscars have become anti-climactic, coming, as it does, at the end of a months-long season in which it is preceded by dozens of awards ceremonies. Those ceremonies won't fade away as a result of the calendar change, but people inside the industry will certainly be less burned-out by the time the Oscars finally come along. 
 
 Below is the full text of the Academy's message to its members. 
 
 * * * 
 
 Dear Member, 
 
 Last night, the Board of Governors met to elect new board officers, and discuss and approve significant changes to the Oscars telecast. 
 
 The Board of Governors, staff, Academy members, and various working groups spent the last several months discussing improvements to the show. 
 
 Tonight, the Board approved three key changes: 
 
 1. A three-hour Oscars telecast 
 
 We are committed to producing an entertaining show in three hours, delivering a more accessible Oscars for our viewers worldwide. 
 
 To honor all 24 award categories, we will present select categories live, in the Dolby Theatre, during commercial breaks (categories to be determined). The winning moments will then be edited and aired later in the broadcast. 
 
 2. New award category 
 
 We will create a new category for outstanding achievement in popular film. Eligibility requirements and other key details will be forthcoming. 
 
 3. Earlier airdate for 92nd Oscars 
 
 The date of the 92nd Oscars telecast will move to Sunday, February 9, 2020, from the previously announced February 23. The date change will not affect awards eligibility dates or the voting process. 
 
 The 91st Oscars telecast remains as announced on Sunday, February 24, 2019. 
 
 We have heard from many of you about improvements needed to keep the Oscars and our Academy relevant in a changing world. The Board of Governors took this charge seriously. 
 
 We are excited about these steps, and look forward to sharing more details with you. 
 
 John Bailey and Dawn Hudson 
 
 The Academy later issued an addendum: 
 
 While the details for a popular film category are still being finalized, a single film is eligible for an Oscar in both categories — Outstanding Achievement in Popular Film and the Academy Award for Best Picture. The new category will be introduced this coming year, at the 91st Oscars. In creating this award, the Board of Governors supports broad-based consideration of excellence in all films. ||||| Academy Awards ceremonies are laughable, even to those of us who love them. We at Slate want to fix the Oscars, but we need your help. Read the introduction and submit your brilliant, offbeat, or outrageous idea for how to make the voting process and the Oscar telecast better. You can tag your submission in one of the following categories: 
 
 Awards and Categories: Ideas about the nomination, voting, and awards process itself. 
 
 Hosts and Talent: Ideas about the people we see onstage (or who work behind the scenes) on Oscar night. 
 
 Montages, Videos, and Musical Numbers: Ideas for new dance, music, video, or other production numbers to liven up the ceremony. You can even submit your own YouTube video as an example! 
 
 Acceptance Speeches: Ideas for how to make every acceptance speech memorable—or do away with them entirely. 
 
 Everything Else: Ideas so mind-blowing they don’t fit in our pedestrian categories. 
 
 Important note: Please submit one single idea per entry. Entries with 3 or 4 or 5 ideas all jammed together will probably not make the cut! If you have three great ideas, submit three great entries! 
 
 Then comment and vote on the other ideas proposed by Slate readers. Voting ends on Feb. 22; we’ll present Slate’s plan for making the Oscars matter again the week before the ceremony (in time for Oscar producer Brian Grazer to crib as many ideas as he wants). ||||| The spotlight is now on PricewaterhouseCoopers, which has overseen the Academy's ballot-counting process for 83 years. 
 
 Was it the Bonnie and Clyde presenter team's fault? A case of the envelopes getting mixed up backstage? Let the finger-pointing begin. 
 
 After a stunning and surreal mistake that may be the worst Academy Awards telecast flub in history, the accounting firm in charge of the ballot-counting process is clarifying its role. 
 
 "We sincerely apologize to Moonlight, La La Land, Warren Beatty, Faye Dunaway, and Oscar viewers for the error that was made during the award announcement for best picture," said PricewaterhouseCoopers, which has overseen the Academy's ballot-counting process for 83 years. 
 
 The statement added: "The presenters had mistakenly been given the wrong category envelope and when discovered, was immediately corrected. We are currently investigating how this could have happened, and deeply regret that this occurred. We appreciate the grace with which the nominees, the Academy, ABC, and Jimmy Kimmel handled the situation." 
 
 In years past, the firm has provided two sets of winners' envelopes in briefcases that are sent to the Dolby Theatre, one briefcase for either side of the stage. 
 
 In what was was supposed to just be a memorable movie reunion, Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway ended up fumbling the presentation of best picture, as they were apparently holding the best actress envelope instead. 
 
 Not only did Dunaway read off La La Land as the best picture winner, the confusion wasn't fixed until after several members of the Lionsgate movie's team had already spoken. "I opened the envelope and it said 'Emma Stone, La La Land.' That's why I looked at Faye, and at you. I wasn't trying to be funny," Beatty clarified, laughing nervously. 
 
 "This is very unfortunate, what happened. Personally, I blame Steve Harvey for this," emcee Jimmy Kimmel said, trying to salvage the moment with a joke about how Harvey had announced the wrong winner of the "Miss Universe" pageant on live TV in 2015. However, this mistake was far worse. 
 
 Moonlight director Barry Jenkins appreciated the surreal nature of the moment right away, saying onstage: "Very clearly, very clearly, even in my dreams, this could not be true. But to hell with dreams, I’m done with it, ’cause this is true. Oh my goodness." 
 
 At the end of the televised portion, Kimmel added one last jab. "Well, I don’t know what happened. I blame myself for this," he said, referencing his self-effacing joke at the top of the show. "Let’s remember, it’s just an awards show. I mean, we hate to see people disappointed but the good news is, we got to see some extra speeches. We had some great movies. I knew I would screw this show up, I really did." 
 
 La La Land producer Jordan Horowitz had to take a ballot and show the TV audience that, in fact, it said Moonlight. "I was ecstatic, it was amazing. I thought we won an Oscar," Horowitz recalled to The Hollywood Reporter. "Some guys in headsets started buzzing around. It became clear that was something wrong. They took the envelope I had. It said 'Emma Stone, La La Land' on it." 
 
 He added: "It was clear that there was something wrong. We started looking for the best picture envelope. Nobody knew where it was. Then it appeared, they opened it next to me and it said 'Moonlight.'" 
 
 PwC has had Brian Cullinan and Martha Ruiz as co-ballot leaders overseeing the process for several years. The company touted that the ballot briefcases had made stops in 11 cities across the U.S. before making its way to Hollywood for the big day. 
 
 Backstage, Jenkins was asked to explain the moment. "No explanation; things just happen," he said. "I will say I saw two cards. I wanted to see the card, and Warren refused to show the card to anybody before he showed it to me. He said, 'Barry Jenkins has to see the card. He needs to know.'" 
 
 Moonlight breakout star Mahershala Ali, who won in the supporting actor category, was reflective. "It’s very hard to feel joy in a moment like that,” he said, adding: “I feel very fortunate for all of us to have walked away with the best picture award. It’s pretty remarkable.” 
 
 With the top honor yanked away from the frontrunner, La La Land ended the evening with six wins, Moonlight claimed three wins and Hacksaw Ridge and Manchester by the Sea took two awards. 
 
 Emma Stone, who claimed best actress, was cordial when asked about the confusion by reporters. "I f—ing love Moonlight," she said. "Of course it was an amazing thing to hear them say La La Land — we would have loved best picture, but we're so happy for Moonlight." 
 
 Meanwhile, at the Governors Ball, Dunaway wasn't as gregarious about the moment. The presenter told THR, "No, I'm not going to speak about it." 
 
 Rebecca Sun, Mia Galuppo and Scott Feinberg contributed to this article.
– Slate wants to fix the Oscars—"Academy Awards ceremonies are laughable, even to those of us who love them," the site declares—so it's asking writers and editors to offer up their proposals in advance of the Feb. 26 ceremony. Lowen Liu's idea: Allow for a re-vote on the major categories 10 years later. That would mean that this year, Academy voters could finally make up for the travesty that occurred when A Beautiful Mind won over such "diverse and dazzling" films as English manners mystery Gosford Park and the theatrical Moulin Rouge! The golden statues would be "repossessed and redistributed," and we'd end up with "an officially sanctioned shadow awards, always 10 years the wiser, with perhaps less relevance but more respect," writes Liu. Rather than masking their disappointment, those who are robbed of their rightful awards each year can "flash signs that say, 'See you in a decade.'" After all, when it comes to the arts, there's no such thing as a final judgment. If the Academy doesn't take Liu up on the idea this year, "then soon," he writes. "It’s not too late for those who gasped in horror along with so many others when Crash stole the honors from Brokeback Mountain in 2006." Click for another proposal involving canceling the ceremony entirely.