GM bows out of Oscars and Emmys

DETROIT, Aug. 18 (UPI) -- Financially troubled General Motors Corp. is dropping advertising for the Academy Awards and the Emmy Awards, the U.S. company announced.

GM, the top sponsor for the Academy Awards, spending $97.1 million on advertising for the show from 1998-2007, will drop away from next year's show, The Detroit News reported Monday.

After losing $15.5 billion in the second-quarter, the company decided to also drop away from next month's Emmy Awards show, the company said.

"The Emmys and Oscars are prestigious events, and the decision to release them was a difficult one -- especially after over a decade of involvement," GM spokeswoman Kelly Cusinato told the News.

GM's rivals are also scaling back on advertising this year. TNS Media Intelligence said the Big Three cut their advertising budgets 16 percent in the first quarter.