LOS ANGELES, June 26 (Xinhua) -- The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which hands out the annual Oscar awards, announced Friday that its honorary awards will be presented at a non-televised black-tie dinner from next year.

    The announcement came just two days after the academy decided to expand the field of nominees for the best picture Oscar from five to 10, in hopes that more nominees for the top award will help with the declining television ratings.

    The televised academy awards show has seen low ratings in recent years, and organizers are hoping that more best picture contenders could give more studios a chance to laud their films and generate more interest from audience.

    Although recipients of honorary Oscars, including the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award, the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award and the Honorary Award, will be acknowledged at next year's academy awards show, they will be selected and announced in September and given the awards at an event for about 500 invitees in November, the academy said.

    The testimonial awards are given for lifetime achievements, exceptional contributions to motion picture arts and sciences, and outstanding service to the academy.

    It is believed that more nominees for the top award would mean an even longer awards show, and not giving out the honorary awards during the televised show would tend to shorten its length.

    "For some years now, the board has struggled to balance the desire to truly honor worthy individuals with the time limitations that the Oscar telecast imposes," Academy President Sid Ganis said in a statement.

    He said that by creating a separate event for recognizing these outstanding people in the movie industry, the academy is insuring that each honoree will be given his or her full due, without compromise.

    The academy wanted to achieve more flexibility with these awards while maintaining the integrity of them, Ganis added.

    The academy also announced Friday that no songs will be nominated in the best original song category unless they score 8.25 or higher in its scoring system.

    If only one song hits the mark, it will be nominated along with the next highest-ranking song, and when two or more songs hit the number, they will all be nominees, up to a maximum of five, according to the academy.

    Under the old system, there were a maximum of five and a minimum of three nominees in the best original song category.

    The 82nd academy awards nominations will be announced February 2, and the awarding ceremony will be held March 7 at Kodak Theater in Hollywood.