Oscars to go without host for first time in 30 years

The role of anchoring the Oscars has thrown up problems for a number of hosts since then.

Burke is also confident in the show's current no-hosts strategy, which she thinks will keep the telecast moving and also help the network keep the runtime to under three hours, allowing East Coast viewers to go to bed at a reasonable hour.

"After that, it was pretty clear that we were going to stay the course and just have presenters host the Oscars. There was an idea that they were going to have the presenters just host the Oscars", she added. While Burke wouldn't confirm which categories might be getting axed for television, she did talk up the performances.

The Oscars ceremony was left hostless after actor and comedian Kevin Hart pulled out in December following a backlash on social media over homophobic tweets he made several years ago resurfaced.

"Ironically, the lack of clarity surrounding the Oscars has kept the Oscars really in the conversation and the mystery has been compelling. We all got on board with that".

"I think we are going to see a big turnout for this because these are big popular movies that have been nominated", she said. Cuse added that he would personally be OK if ABC brought someone else on to reboot Lost with characters who go to the island at a different period of time.

Hart, 39, apologized for his past comments in a tweet after stepping down as Oscars host and during his SiriusXM radio show Straight from The Hart in early January. "She promised to keep the February 24 telecast down to just three hours", Del Barco added. "I have not spoken to [executive producers] Carlton [Cuse] or J.J". "I've said where the rights and wrongs were. I'm not gonna continue to go back and tap into the days of old, when I've moved on, and I'm in a completely different space in my life".