Guy Adams: Read the viewing figures and weep

It was textbook stuff, Kate Winslet's acceptance speech. A dramatic triumph, as she thanked the entire world, said "Gather!" a lot, and declared undying love for God, Leonardo DiCaprio, and her husband – in roughly that order.

Sadly, America wasn't watching. The nation had better things to do than gawp at famous people tell each other how wonderful they are, and decided instead to tune into a new series of 24 on the other channel. So the Golden Globes bombed, pulling in 14 million viewers. That's a pathetic figure: 25 per cent less than expected and, if you discount 2008 (when the writers' strike saw festivities cancelled), the smallest network TV audience in its 66-year history.

Next month, it's Oscar night. And the omens there don't look healthy, either. Last year, they got their smallest ever live audience: just 32 million. In the 1990s, they never dipped below 40 million.

To Hollywood, this marks a serious problem. Awards are big business, and winning them can add millions to a film's box office. If they go into decline, so will the industry's already fragile profits. In short, Oscar season needs fixing, fast.

Giving ceremonies a face-lift would probably help. They go on too long (3 hours), have too many categories, and all soon get repetitive – regardless of which New York rent-a-comic you hire to host them.

But the real problem is the films that recent awards have celebrated. A decade ago, when Titanic swept the board, a record 55 million watched the Oscars. Since then, genuine blockbusters have been sidelined – and viewing figures slumped accordingly.

In fact, not one of the last four "best film" Oscar winners made more than $150m at the box office, the widely-accepted yardstick for a smash hit.

So in future, the Academy may face a pressing choice. Either it can give gongs to films it really, really likes. Or in can give them to films the rest of America likes. But, sadly, it probably can't do both.

Dark Knight a dark horse?

One copper-bottomed blockbuster does still remain in this year's Oscar race. The Dark Knight has hoovered up guild awards in technical categories, and its co-star Heath Ledger, is a shoo-in for at least one acting gong.

In 15 of the past 20 years, the movie with the most overall nominations won the "best film" Oscar. Logic dictates that The Dark Knight may just be that film. Yet the bookmakers Boylesports make it their 25/1 eighth favourite.

Not for the first time, it makes me rue the day this strangely puritanical nation decided to ban online gambling.