Even so, the Oscar broadcast remains one of the highest-rated network shows of the year and a valuable magnet for advertising dollars.

Ingram and Parton performed the song live on the Oscar broadcast.

Last year the Oscar broadcast saw a significant ratings drop, drawing at least 10 percent fewer viewers than it did in 1998.

The producer was Paul Flattery and the director was Louis J Horvitz (who has directed many of the Oscar broadcasts).

"People will buy them sight unseen from the Internet," he said, adding that he expects to deliver within two weeks of the Oscar broadcast.

If last week's Oscar broadcast is any indication, the familiar black tie is going the way of the fedora and the fish fork.

"It's a little like being a quarterback," said Gil Cates, who has produced severla Oscar broadcasts.

"A bathetically bathed Oscar broadcast" is clumsy, and how is progress of a car "not enlightened" by knots of demonstrators?

The Oscar broadcast is typically the second-biggest night of the year for advertising, behind only Super Bowl Sunday.

Critical opinion notwithstanding, the Oscar broadcast had its highest ratings in 12 years, a 32.5 rating, up from last year's 31.1.