American Music Awards will shift to earlier date; Grammys expected to do the same

<br>LOS ANGELES (AP) _ American Music Awards organizers plan to shift the show from its usual January date to November of this year, cutting the nominations window by about two months, a spokesman for

Tuesday, April 22nd 2003, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

LOS ANGELES (AP) _ American Music Awards organizers plan to shift the show from its usual January date to November of this year, cutting the nominations window by about two months, a spokesman for the show said.

The Grammys, which air on CBS, also will switch from their traditional late February position to a few weeks earlier, according to the music industry trade newspaper Billboard. Grammy officials did not immediately return a call for comment Monday.

The American Music Awards, which are broadcast on ABC, planned to break from the early year crush of award shows long before the apparent Grammy decision, Paul Shefrin, spokesman for AMA producer Dick Clark, said Monday.

Ratings were down for the American Music Awards this year, when Ozzy Osbourne and his family were hosts. The show had just 12.9 million viewers _ the smallest audience since Nielsen Media Research began keeping records for the show in 1974 _ down from the 16 million who saw it in 2002.

Entertainment awards ceremonies have crowded the schedule for early 2004 since Oscar planners decided to hold their event nearly a month earlier, from late March to Feb. 29.

The Screen Actors Guild, the Directors Guild of America and the British Academy of Film and Television Arts are among the other groups that have moved up their awards ceremonies to remain competitive.