The Academy Awards Are Exiting Broadcast TV and Stream on the Video Platform Beginning in the Year 2029.
The Oscars ceremony will commence streaming exclusively on the global video platform in the year 2029, marking the latest major transformation in the film industry.
The organization behind the Oscars made the announcement on Wednesday, stating that it finalized a long-term agreement granting YouTube the exclusive global rights to the Oscars until 2033.
The Oscars, set for March 15th, has been broadcast for a half a century on ABC. Commencing in 2029, the show will be available as a free live stream on the digital platform.
It's a further significant shakeup in Hollywood, which is dealing with corporate acquisitions and consolidations, coupled with severe reductions in filming.
"The Academy is an international organization, and this alliance will enable us to increase availability to the work of the Academy to the most extensive international crowd attainable - which will be advantageous for our membership and the cinematic world," said the Academy's executives in a statement.
Over decades, viewership of the ceremony have fallen, even if there was a slight uptick in 2025, with a considerable amount of youthful audiences streaming from mobile devices and computers.
In a separate statement, YouTube's CEO described the Oscars "among our vital pillars of culture" and said that teaming up with the Academy would "motivate a younger cohort of creativity and film lovers while remaining faithful to the Oscars' illustrious history".
The broadcast network, which has streamed the awards since the mid-1970s, commented that it was looking forward "to the upcoming broadcasts" it will still host.
This shift comes as large entertainment companies face intricate takeover attempts. Both options were viewed as unfavourable for an business that has experienced drastic cuts over the past several years.
Like major studios, cable networks have encountered challenges as the public has increasingly opted for on-demand video as an alternative.
The platform securing broadcasting rights to the Academy Awards strongly indicates that dependence on online services will persist increasing.
