Is the Baftas live? What time is 2024 awards ceremony on TV, when are winners announced, is BBC show edited

Baftas 2024 will be broadcast on BBC One this weekend but some winners will be announced before it airs on TV
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The Baftas is the UK’s premiere film awards show, and this year legendary Scottish actor David Tennant will host the ceremony at the Royal Festival Hall in London.

The great and good of Hollywood will be in attendance as Christopher Nolan’s biopic Oppenheimer eyes 13 nominations. Frankenstein-esque fantasy Poor Things and Martin Scorsese's latest 206 minute epic Killers of the Flower Moon have nine nods each, whilst The Holdovers, and The Zone of Interest have eight.

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Last year the top awards, including Best Film, were shown live on TV as they were announced, but this year the Baftas’ format has changed again. 

The Baftas 2024 will be broadcast on BBC One two hours after the ceremony begins in LondonThe Baftas 2024 will be broadcast on BBC One two hours after the ceremony begins in London
The Baftas 2024 will be broadcast on BBC One two hours after the ceremony begins in London

Is the Baftas award ceremony broadcast live?

No, whilst the ceremony may appear to be live when it is broadcast, the Baftas awards show actually airs on a two-hour delay, which can be confusing for viewers. When the show airs many of the award winners will have already been confirmed, and none of the winners will actually be announced live on TV.

The ceremony is always broadcast on a delay, but last year the final four award categories were announced live for the first time - so Austin Butler’s Best Actor Win for Elvis, Cate Blanchett’s Best Actress victory for Tar, Emma Mackey taking the Rising Star Award, and All Quiet on the Western Front bagging Best Film were all watched in real time by UK viewers.

This year the ceremony will revert to the traditional format and even the top award wins will air on TV after they have already been confirmed at the ceremony and reported online.

Doctor Who star David Tennant will host the Baftas 2024Doctor Who star David Tennant will host the Baftas 2024
Doctor Who star David Tennant will host the Baftas 2024

What time is the Baftas 2024 on TV?

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The Baftas awards ceremony will be broadcast on BBC One and BBC iPlayer on Sunday February 18 from 7pm-9pm.

However, as the show will be on a two-hour delay the results will actually be announced at the ceremony in London from around 5pm, with the final awards being announced around 8pm. The results will be shared online ahead and during the TV broadcast.

Does the BBC edit the Baftas?

Yes, the BBC doesn’t just broadcast the awards show on a delay, it also cuts the broadcast down to fit its TV schedule. The real ceremony at London’s Royal Festival Hall will last around three hours, but when seen on TV it will have been cut by a third so that it is just two hours long. 

The BBC’s editorial decision when it comes to the Baftas proved controversial last year when Derry Girls’ star Siobhan McSweeney’s acceptance speech for the Best Female Performance in a Comedy award was edited down to remove criticism of the government.

Her full speech, in which she spoke of the ‘ignorance and stupidity of so-called leaders in Dublin Stormont, and Westminster’, was shown in full on the official Baftas live stream.