Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) executives were probably ecstatic last night after the drama "No Country for Old Men," which its Miramax unit co-produced, won the best picture Oscar. Today, they must be depressed because a record-low audience witnessed the company's triumph.

Ratings for the Oscar telecast, broadcast on the company's ABC network, were probably the lowest of the decade, according to the New York Times. The telecast drew about 33% of people watching television, a steep decline from last year's 42%, the paper said.

This isn't a surprise. For one thing, as the paper notes, the leading movies weren't exactly crowd pleasers. Moreover, viewers got into the habit of not watching television thanks to the recent Hollywood writers' strike. Once media habits are established, they are hard to change. Perhaps, people have got enough on their minds with the faltering economy to watch overpaid celebrities pay homage to other overpaid celebrities.

Disney ad sales executives may be forced to give advertisers so-called make goods because of the ratings shortfall for failing to meet guarantees for viewership. ABC may be forced to give free advertising time on popular TV programs such as "Desperate Housewives" to appease angry advertisers. That may negate some of the benefit to the bottom line from "No Country's" Oscar triumph.

--Freelance writer Jonathan Berr edits the blog Ketchup and Eggs.

For the second time in three years, The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, which hands out those coveted little gold Oscar statues, has selected satirist Jon Stewart to fill the nerve-wracking position of host. Stewart hosted the grand affair in 2006 and earned mixed reviews ... some said his particular brand of humor failed to connect with the target audience, while others thought it not biting enough.

I thought Stewart was far-and-away the best part of that particular year's broadcast, with the possible exception of Three 6 Mafia's live performance of the Oscar-winning "It's Hard Out Here For a Pimp." (Click here for a look at Stewart's monologue from the 2006 Oscar broadcast.) Last year, comedienne and daytime talk-show host Ellen DeGeneres assumed the thankless task.

An Associated Press report indicates that producer of the Oscar telecast, Gil Cates, described Stewart as smart, quick and funny, not to mention a great guy. (He failed to add that it will be intriguing to have an expert in political satire hosting during an election year). The liberal long-time host of The Daily Show has taken home 9 Emmys for the "fake" news show and has previously served as master of ceremonies for the Grammy awards and Saturday Night Live, not to mention Elmopalooza.

Always ready with a witticism, the diminutive Stewart noted that he was honored to be asked for a repeat performance, because the third time, after all, is the charm. The Oscars ceremony, the 80th of its kind, will be held February 24th at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood. They will be televised on Walt Disney's (NYSE: DIS) ABC Network, which has a contract with the Academy through 2014.

Beth Gaston Moon is an analyst at Schaeffer's Investment Research.

In a move that has infuriated TV academy officials, various L.A.-based members of the academy leaked (via text messages) potential Emmy nominees, noting the 10 programs being screened in the comedy and drama categories. The story quickly leaked to media outlets including the New York Post, and a small-screen hullabaloo was born.

A spokeswoman with the academy noted that all members involved with the voting are required to sign a confidentiality agreement. She added that her organization would "not comment on any violations of that [confidentiality] agreement or on any speculative reporting of nomination data."

With the suspense slightly dashed, it is bad news for the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, but there is good news for struggling General Electric (NYSE: GE) unit NBC, which scored 6 of the 20 "possible" nominations. Walt Disney's (NYSE: DIS) ABC network scored 5. Other networks represented on the list included News Corp.'s (NYSE: NWS) FOX, CBS Corp.'s (NYSE: CBS) eponymous network and Showtime, and HBO - a division of Time Warner (NYSE: TWX).

Roll over Oscar and tell Emmy the news.

In a move that will foolishly encourage deluded wannabe filmmakers around the world, YouTube said today that it will give awards for excellence in user-generated video.

YouTube will nominate videos in seven categories: most creative, most inspirational, best comedy, musician of the year, best commentary and "most adorable video ever," according to the Associated Press. Perhaps the site should add a few other categories such as best Madonna lip-syncing, weirdest pet tricks and excellence in pirating video.

Nominees for the as-yet unarmed award will be compiled at a gallery where YouTube users can vote on their favorites from Monday through Friday.The winners will be announced March 25.

Even though this will lead to crimes against video, I think it's a smart idea for the Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) site to tap into the enthusiasm of its users.

Now. if YouTube can only figure out how to make nice with media companies and make a profit, shareholders would give Google an award that never gets dusty on mantle: a higher stock price.