What's news: Oscars TV ratings hit an all-time low, Parasite set to double its theater count after historic win, Neon's Tom Quinn on "shock" best picture win, Mike Hopkins leaves Sony for Amazon, streaming TV usage has doubled in two years, Harvey Weinstein defense tries to poke holes in prosecution. Plus: There's a CSI reboot in the works, and the NFL petitions the Supreme Court. --Alex Weprin

 Oscars TV Ratings

►TV ratings: Oscars hit an all-time low. ABC's Oscar telecast reached lows in the ratings, falling sharply from last year, Rick Porter reports. The three-hour-plus kudocast averaged about 23.6 million viewers and a 5.3 rating among adults 18-49, well below the 29.56 million and 7.7 for 2019's awards ceremony — which aired two weeks later in the year. The Oscars were down 20 percent year-over-year in viewers and 31 percent in the key ad-sales demo of adults 18-49. Last year's Oscars stopped a four-year ratings slide, growing the audience for the first time since 2014. The numbers.

+On social media: Parasite, Joaquin Phoenix, Eminem's surprise performance, Renée Zellweger's best actress win and Janelle Monae's opening musical number were among the most popular subjects on Twitter and Facebook during the awards. More.

+Visual effects pros growl over Cats Oscars segment. The Visual Effects Society on Monday released a statement urging the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to "properly honor the craft of visual effects — and all of the crafts" as it moves forward. During Sunday's Oscars broadcast, James Corden and Rebel Wilson appeared to present the award for best visual effects in Cats costumes, lampooning Universal's musical debacle and causing VES to immediately respond with a series of tweets reminding the Academy that VFX practitioners deserve "respect" and are not a "scapegoat." The story.

+The Oscar parties: Ramona Saviss and Chris Gardner have the inside scoop from the Governors Ball to the Vanity Fair party to Bong Joon Ho's late night arrival at the Parasite party at SoHo House. The party diary.

+Taika Waititi's "first peoples" tribute, Chrissy Metz's mom and more inside moments explained. THR breaks down Brad Pitt's shout out to Robert Garcia, Lin-Manuel Miranda's reference to "T-U-R-T-L-E Power" by Partner in Kryme and more references that may have left viewers at home with questions. More.

+Eminem's "Lose Yourself" sees massive sales bump after surprise Oscars performance. On Sunday, the track sold 4,000 downloads in the U.S., up a whopping 1,894 percent as compared to the negligible figure it sold Saturday. In total, Eminem’s entire catalog of songs — again, according to initial sales reports — sold a combined 7,000 downloads on Sunday, up 307 percent as compared to the nearly 2,000 sold on Saturday. More.



^Neon's Tom Quinn on Bong Joon Ho's historic Oscar wins for Parasite: "I'm in absolute shock." The production and distribution company co-founder discusses Bong's awards haul, its statement about world cinema and what his own mother had to say about the epic night.

Quote: "I know, mathematically, we were going to walk away with something, but I thought it was historic to be up to bat at all. To be standing here now after having won best screenplay, best director, best international feature and best picture, I'm in absolute shock. It's a win for all of us. I couldn't be happier with the power of cinema." The story.

+Parasite to expand theater count following historic win. The best picture winner will dramatically expand its theater count in the U.S. this weekend to as many as 2,000 locations, nearly double its current reach. Bong Joon Ho's acclaimed South Korean film, which indie distributor Neon first opened in select cinemas in early October, is certain to enjoy a lucrative post-Oscars bump, considering that its widest cinema count to date has been 1,060 locations. The story.

+Critic's notebook: The liberating power of the Parasite Oscar win. The awards season success of Parasite was not only a triumph for South Korea and foreign cinema at large — it was also a kind of unburdening for Asian Americans, Inkoo Kang writes.

Quote: "Maybe because he had little to prove, at least race-wise, Bong acted his refreshingly carefree self, from the film's initial rollout through his awards campaign and Oscar night. Even before Parasite's release, he insulted the Academy by calling the Oscars a 'local' prize. When Parasite took the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film, he chided Americans for being so incurious about all the films on the other side of 'the one-inch-tall barrier of subtitles.'" The column.

Elsewhere in film...

--James Bobin, best known for helming Disney’s recent Muppets movies, is in early talks to tackle the big-screen adaptation of the classic board game Clue, staring Ryan Reynolds.

--A Nipsey Hussle documentary from Ava DuVernay is landing at Netflix, Tatiana Siegel reports.

--Shirley, the Elisabeth Moss-starring thriller, has been acquired by Neon in North America.

--Toy giant Hasbro on Tuesday reported lower, but better-than-expected earnings for its fourth quarter ended Dec. 30 as Frozen 2 and Star Wars toys boosted revenue.

 Streaming Skyrockets

►Streaming TV usage nearly doubles in less than two tears, Nielsen says. Nielsen's latest total audience report takes a deep dive into the streaming ecosystem, revealing that the majority of TV consumers pay for more than one SVOD service, that streaming usage in OTT-capable households has nearly doubled in less than two years and that there is a virtually endless supply of content available to those users. Rick Porter has the details.

►Mike Hopkins exits Sony TV for top Amazon video job. After a two-and-a-half-year tenure as chairman Sony Pictures Television, Hopkins is leaving the independent studio and taking a top job at Amazon, where he will oversee Prime Video and Amazon Studios. In his new post, he will report directly to Amazon chairman and CEO Jeff Bezos. Hopkins will begin his new role at Amazon on Feb. 24.

--Hopkins' role at Sony TV will not be replaced but his duties will be absorbed by worldwide distribution president Keith LeGoy and Jeff Frost, president of U.S. production. Lesley Goldberg and Natalie Jarvey have the story.

+Analysis: Hopkins effectively succeeds Amazon exec Jeff Blackburn, who had led the company’s entertainment and advertising businesses — including Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Studios and Amazon Music — before stepping away for a sabbatical in 2020. The new elevated position suggests that video is a key strategic priority for Bezos and Amazon going forward. 

+NBC ups Masami Yamamoto to president of business affairs. Most recently serving as EVP of business affairs for scripted programming at both NBC Entertainment and Universal Television, she’s had oversight of all aspects of business affairs for scripted programming for both the network and the scripted studio — working on overall and first-look deals, as well as talent pacts and digital and licensing agreements. Yamamoto’s purview now includes both scripted and unscripted programming across NBC Entertainment, Universal Television Alternative Studio and first-run syndication. More.

►SiriusXM acquires minority stake in SoundCloud for $75 million. The satellite radio company invested in the open audio platform SoundCloud in return for a minority stake of an undisclosed size and two board seats. Last year, SiriusXM, controlled by John Malone's Liberty Media, closed its acquisition of music streaming service Pandora. More.

+The big business story of the day: A federal judge has signed off on Sprint's $26 billion merger with T-Mobile. The media angle: satellite TV giant Dish Network will receive assets from the companies under the agreement, enabling it to become a fully-fledged wireless competitor. Also: Sprint offers a free Hulu subscription with some wireless plans. T-Mobile offers a free Netflix subscription with some wireless plans. What happens now?

 Marvel Entertainment is adding a new comic book title to its line up this summer, but The Marvels isn’t the average superhero team that the title might suggest. Indeed, the new series from Avengers and Astro City writer Kurt Busiek, is described by the publisher as “the most sprawling series to ever hit the Marvel Universe.” More.



^New TV reboots in the works: CBS is looking to toast the 20th anniversary of one of its most successful franchises with a revival. The network is in talks with CSI: Crime Scene Investigation original series creator Anthony Zuiker, Jerry Bruckheimer and the show's creative team to bring back the procedural with a new, limited series... Disney+ is officially moving forward with its Turner & Hooch TV series. Following a brief run in development, the streaming platform has tapped Drake & Josh grad Josh Peck to star in the 12-episode series for the streamer...

+TV renewals: ABC has handed out a fourth season of the medical drama The Good Doctor... Netflix has renewed the breakout comedy Sex Education for a third season to air in 2021...

Elsewhere in TV...

--Inkoo Kang reviews Ava DuVernay's new OWN drama Cherish The Day.

--U.K. public broadcaster BBC’s BBC Studios on Monday said that its science unit would make a series with Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg. Also: BBC Studios has expanded its drama deal with Chinese online video giant Youku, part of the Alibaba group.

--Rob McElhenney wanted an "authentic" view of the video game industry in Apple's Mythic Quest.

--Kiernan Shipka and Diane Kruger are going Swimming With Sharks at Quibi. The pair will topline the short-form streaming platform's update of the 1994 Hollywood satire.

 The Harvey Weinstein Trial

 Harvey Weinstein's defense team scored seemingly direct hits on the prosecution's case against him on Monday, as two key witnesses challenged the claims made by two of his main accusers, Jeremy Barr reports. Social media influencer Claudia Salinas denied the sworn claims of alleged victim Lauren Young, and actress Talita Maia pushed back on comments made by her one-time friend Jessica Mann. Here's the story.

+Also: The National Football League is concerned that a revolution may be at hand with respect to the way that its games get televised to millions of fans. On Friday, pointing to how teams currently pool TV rights and then license packages to distributors, the league asked the Supreme Court to review an antitrust case with the potential of upsetting an arrangement that has served the league for more than a quarter century. The story.

+Walking Dead trial: Ken Ziffren testifies, feisty standoff ensues. Can AMC dictate profit participation terms to key TWD creatives? An LA Superior Court hearing shed a little light on the issues, but featured no Perry Mason moments. More.

New Hampshire primary preview: Yes, Bernie Sanders is the favorite, but the TV news operations will still be going all-out in The Granite State this evening.

--On broadcast: ABC News will have coverage led by George Stephanopoulos and David Muir, CBS News coverage will be led by Norah O'Donnell, NBC News coverage will be ld by Lester Holt and Chuck Todd.

--On cable: CNN will ave live coverage all night, with a number of its anchors participating. Fox News coverage will be led by Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum from 6-8 pm, but it will still have its usual primetime hosts anchoring from 8-11 before returning to news coverage at 11. Rachel Maddow, Brian Williams and Nicolle Wallace lead MSNBC's coverage.

►Theater review: Hamlet, starring Ruth Negga. David Rooney writes: "Over the production's unrelentingly tense, nearly three-and-a-half-hour duration, Negga brings febrile urgency to depressed Hamlet's existential agony, folding even the most famous speeches into a fluid interrogation of himself as he puzzles over his choices to oppose the treachery making the state of Denmark such a prison." The review.

►Honors for SNL's Bowen Yang. Comedian, writer and actor Bowen Yang is set to receive a Visibility Award from the Human Rights Campaign at its 25th annual North Carolina Dinner on Feb. 22. Bringing together the HRC's active members in the Charlotte area, the event raises funds for the civil organization to continue its efforts in advancing LGBTQ equality. More.

Obituaries: Ron McLarty, the familiar character actor known for his turns on Spenser for Hire, Cop Rock and Law & Order who became a published author thanks to a rave from Stephen King, has died. He was 72... Paula Kelly, the actress, singer and dancer who starred in the film version of Sweet Charity and earned an Emmy nomination for her turn on Night Court, has died. She was 76...

What else we're reading...

--"YouTube in talks to follow Amazon and Apple into video subscriptions market" [The Information]

--"William Hill, CBS strike sports-betting media deal" [WSJ]

--"She wants to break up big everything" [NY Times]

--"A month after Meghan Markle’s exit, Britons continue to debate the role of race" [LA Times]

--"Elisabeth Murdoch surprise contender to become new BBC Director-General" [iNews]

Today's birthdays: Jennifer Aniston, 51, Sheryl Crow, 58, Kelly Rowland, 39, Sarah Palin, 56, Mary Quant, 86.