The Academy Awards to Depart ABC and Broadcast Live on the Video Platform Beginning in the Year 2029.
The Oscars ceremony will commence streaming exclusively on YouTube in the year 2029, representing the newest substantial transformation in Hollywood.
The organization behind the Oscars made the announcement on this week, indicating that it finalized a extended contract giving YouTube the unique international license to the Oscars through 2033.
The awards show, set for March 15th, has aired for a half a century on ABC. Starting in 2029, the ceremony will be accessible in real-time without charge on YouTube.
It's one more significant shakeup in the entertainment world, which is dealing with studio sales and mergers, in addition to drastic slashes to movie budgets.
"Our Academy represents an worldwide body, and this alliance will enable us to broaden reach to the work of the Academy to the most extensive international crowd imaginable - which will be advantageous for our film artists and the film community," stated Academy leadership in a statement.
Throughout a long period, ratings of the televised event have fallen, although there was a slight uptick in 2025, with a considerable amount of Gen Z and millennial watchers tuning in from cell phones and computers.
In a separate statement, the video platform's chief executive referred to the Oscars "one of our fundamental cultural institutions" and added that working with the Academy would "motivate a fresh wave of creativity and movie fans while adhering to the Oscars' celebrated history".
The broadcast network, which has televised the awards since 1976, said that it was looking forward "to the upcoming broadcasts" it will retain rights for.
This decision coincides with large entertainment companies deal with challenging merger discussions. Both options were seen as problematic for an sector that has witnessed drastic cuts over the recent period.
Similar to major studios, cable networks have encountered challenges as the audience has increasingly opted for on-demand video instead.
YouTube obtaining broadcasting rights to the Academy Awards clearly signals that dependence on digital platforms will persist increasing.
