Advertisers are presumably betting that this year's Academy Awards show, to be hosted by Seth MacFarlane and produced by Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, with performances by Barbra Streisand, Adele, and Norah Jones, will be a bigger ratings winner than recent Oscar telecasts. According to today's (Thursday) Los Angeles Times, they've already bought up all available spots for the Feb. 24 telecast on ABC, shelling out $1.70-1.85 million per 30-second spot. As the Times observed, In years past, advertising sales for the annual Academy Awards show would stretch into February with last-minute spots selling during Oscar weekend. The telecast is also expected to receive a big boost from social media, something that occurred last year and is expected to advance further this year. The annual telecast is generally the second-highest-rated telecast of the year after the Super Bowl. Moreover, it is regarded as DVR-proof. Viewers want to learn who the winners are as soon as the announcements are made and are therefore loath to record it so that they can skip commercials.