LOS ANGELES — Emmy officials decided against an extreme makeover for the ceremony but are cutting back on acceptance speeches in a bid to woo more viewers.

As winners in some categories walk to the stage, short taped interviews with them will be played in lieu of "spontaneous" remarks.

Stars, unsurprisingly, are exempt. Writers and directors aren't.

The change was approved by the television academy's board of governors, which dropped a plan to cut the number of awards presented.

Last year, the Emmys sank to their second-lowest ratings ever, drawing fewer than 14 million viewers for the three-hour show.

The Emmys ceremony is Sept. 18.

ABC renews its hits

As April began last year, ABC had fallen into a distant fourth place in most ratings measurements. Just 12 months later, ABC is second to only CBS in total viewers.

Therefore, ABC has given early pickups to four of the shows responsible for that turn-around.

The network has ordered second seasons of "Desperate Housewives," "Lost" and "Boston Legal," while lining up a fifth season of "Alias."

"Desperate Housewives" and "Lost" were two of the most buzz-worthy pilots of the last development season and became out-of-the-box hits for ABC.

Seattle Times news services