The Academy Awards Will Leave ABC and Stream on YouTube Starting in 2029.
The Oscars ceremony will commence broadcasting solely on YouTube in the year 2029, marking the most recent major transformation in Hollywood.
The organization behind the Oscars made the announcement on this week, confirming that it signed a extended contract granting the streaming service the sole worldwide broadcasting rights to the Oscars up to 2033.
The Oscars, scheduled for March 15th, has been broadcast for 50 years on ABC. Commencing in 2029, the show will be viewable as a free live stream on the digital platform.
It's another major restructuring in the entertainment world, which is grappling with corporate acquisitions and consolidations, along with steep slashes to movie budgets.
"The Academy is an international organization, and this collaboration will permit us to broaden reach to the mission of the Academy to the most extensive international crowd imaginable - which will be advantageous for our membership and the cinematic world," said Academy leadership in a announcement.
Over decades, viewership of the ceremony have declined, even if there was a small rise in 2025, with a significant number of youthful audiences streaming from mobile devices and laptops.
In a corresponding announcement, YouTube's CEO described the Oscars "a key essential cultural touchstones" and said that teaming up with the Academy would "motivate a fresh wave of creativity and movie fans while remaining faithful to the Oscars' illustrious history".
ABC, which has streamed the awards since 1976, stated that it was excited "to hosting the event three more times" it will still host.
The move coincides with large entertainment companies deal with complex corporate battles. These potential deals were viewed as concerning for an business that has experienced significant downsizing over the recent period.
Similar to big production houses, traditional TV channels have faced issues as the viewers has chosen streaming services instead.
YouTube winning rights to the Academy Awards clearly signals that dependence on online services will continue increasing.
