Best picture, best actor and best actress may be announced before bedtime for Academy Awards enthusiasts this March.

The 96th Oscars will begin one hour early, with the official show starting at 7 p.m. ET for the first time, ABC said Thursday. The official pre-show will also begin earlier, at 6:30 p.m. ET.

The show has traditionally begun at 8 p.m. Despite various experiments to keep the runtime to three hours, the broadcast has sometimes stretched into the 11 o'clock hour.

Jimmy Kimmel is returning to host the show for the fourth time, Academy CEO Bill Kramer and Academy President Janet Yang announced in a press release on Nov. 15. The hosting gig marks the second year in a row Kimmel has hosted the Oscars, with Kimmel emceeing the 95th Academy Awards in March. The comedian also hosted in 2017 and 2018.

"I always dreamed of hosting the Oscars exactly four times," Kimmel said in the release.

Screenwriter and Kimmel's wife Molly McNearney will also be returning alongside the comedian to executive produce the telecast.

Oscars 2024:Jimmy Kimmel returns as host for the fourth time

Ahead of the Oscars in March, Kimmel chatted with USA TODAY about the pressures of hosting the prestigious awards ceremony.

"There’s pressure to make the show entertaining, but I don't feel pressure when it comes to ratings," Kimmel said at the time. "Network television ratings are headed downhill. There's nothing I or anyone could do about it, and there will be an occasional exception to the rule, but it's not the sort of thing that I put a whole lot of thought into, really. At the end of it, I just want to know that I did a good job, and hopefully most people will agree." 

The 96th Academy Awards are set to air March 10, 2024, on ABC. The ceremony will be held at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. Nominations will be announced on Jan. 23.

Contributing: Edward Segarra, Gary Levin, USA TODAY; The Associated Press

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