The organization, which has become an internet punch line for its whipsawing decisions and frequent brouhahas, said in a statement that it had “heard feedback from its membership.”
“All Academy Awards will be presented without edits, in our traditional format,” the statement said.
The four categories were cinematography, editing, live-action short film and makeup and hairstyling. Next year, they were to return to the live show, with other categories rotated into the breaks.
The academy’s 54-member board of governors, which includes luminaries like Steven Spielberg, Laura Dern and Rory Kennedy, had approved the plan as part of an effort to keep the show to three hours instead of four.
“We sincerely believe you will be pleased,” the academy’s seven elected officers said in a letter to members on Wednesday.
But by then, the academy was facing a mutiny. The American Society of Cinematographers rebuked the organization in an open letter signed by dozens of industry figures, including directors Martin Scorsese and Quentin Tarantino. As movie fans blasted the academy on Twitter, stars joined in.
The 91st Academy Awards will be broadcast Feb. 24. There will be no host.
Whether its remedies are correct or not, the academy’s leaders know they have to take some kind of drastic action: A record low of 26.5 million people watched last year’s telecast, a drop of nearly 20 percent from a year earlier. As recently as four years ago, the Academy Awards had an audience of 43.7 million viewers.
Traditions are wonderful, the organization’s leaders have said, but the television ratings may fall so low that the organization cannot meet its financial obligations.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.