LOS ANGELES — Will the next Academy Awards ceremony be street smart, like the “House Party” movies? Digitally savvy, with a BuzzFeed twist? Or as grandly mainstream as, oh, almost anything Tom Hanks has ever done?

The answer may depend on a talent search that will soon be concluded by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

After three consecutive Oscar shows from the producers Neil Meron and Craig Zadan, officers and executives of the Academy have been quietly examining an intellectually and professionally diverse group of prospects as possible overseers of the next broadcast, set for Feb. 28.

The 2015 show, hosted by Neil Patrick Harris, saw its audience drop nearly 15 percent, to around 36.6 million viewers, from 43 million in 2014. That decline, along with the generally poor reviews the telecast received, added urgency to the Academy’s mission to update what has been viewed in recent years as a shopworn entertainment show.