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ABC boss Karey Burke hints that the Oscars may go without a host again next year

The 91st Oscars® broadcasts live on Sunday, Feb. 24, 2019, at the Dolby Theatre® at Hollywood & Highland Center® in Hollywood and will be televised live on The ABC Television Network at 8:00 p.m. EST/5:00 p.m. PST. (Craig Sjodin via Getty Images)
The 91st Oscars® broadcasts live on Sunday, Feb. 24, 2019, at the Dolby Theatre® at Hollywood & Highland Center® in Hollywood and will be televised live on The ABC Television Network at 8:00 p.m. EST/5:00 p.m. PST. (Craig Sjodin via Getty Images)

The Oscars might go hostless in 2020 for the second year in a row, according to new ABC entertainment president Karey Burke.

Burke was responsible for the Oscars for the first time this year after joining the television giant and said she is “extremely happy” with how this year’s telecast was received.

Ratings for the broadcast, which was set to be presented by Kevin Hart before a controversy over homophobic tweets, were up on the historic low of the 2018 ceremony.

Read more: How the 2019 Oscars made history

The 52-year-old exec told The Hollywood Reporter she is open to the prospect of the Academy Awards continuing not to have a host for the 2020 ceremony.

She said: “We’re having those conversations with the Academy right now.

“We are extremely happy with how the show went. Odds are you’ll see us repeating what we consider to be a successful formula.”

ABC Entertainment president Karey Burke addressed the press at the 2019 TCA Winter Press Tour, at The Langham Huntington, in Pasadena, California. (Image Group LA via Getty Images)
ABC Entertainment president Karey Burke addressed the press at the 2019 TCA Winter Press Tour, at The Langham Huntington, in Pasadena, California. (Image Group LA via Getty Images)

Burke said it was “unnerving” to be in the middle of the controversies that raged in advance of this year’s Oscars ceremony, from Hart’s removal as host to the short-lived decision to award prizes during advert breaks.

Read more: Gaga and Cooper send Oscars audience into meltdown

She added: “Never before have I had the illusion of so much responsibility and yet felt quite powerless.

“If the Oscars can serve as a harbinger to how we approach things in my tenure here at ABC, I will be very happy.

“Expectations might be low but everybody here made bold choices, did risky things, had each other’s backs and pulled it off.”

Read more: Worst Best Picture winners in Oscars history

The 92nd Academy Awards will air on 9 February, 2020.