The Oscars to Depart Broadcast TV and Stream on YouTube Starting in 2029.
The Oscars ceremony will begin airing only on YouTube in the year 2029, signaling the latest major transformation in Hollywood.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences made the announcement on this week, indicating that it entered into a long-term agreement granting the streaming service the sole worldwide broadcasting rights to the Oscars up to 2033.
The Oscars, scheduled for March 15th, has been televised for a half a century on the traditional network. Starting in 2029, the event will be viewable in real-time without charge on the digital platform.
This is one more major upheaval in Hollywood, which is dealing with studio sales and mergers, coupled with severe production cuts.
"The Academy is an global institution, and this collaboration will permit us to broaden reach to the activities of the Academy to the most extensive international crowd attainable - which will be advantageous for our film artists and the movie industry," stated the Academy's executives in a statement.
Over decades, viewership of the televised event have dropped, even if there was a slight uptick in 2025, with a significant number of youthful audiences watching from mobile devices and computers.
In a separate statement, the video platform's chief executive described the Oscars "one of our essential cultural institutions" and noted that working with the Academy would "motivate a fresh wave of innovation and movie fans while adhering to the Oscars' storied legacy".
The broadcast network, which has televised the ceremony since 1976, commented that it was eagerly anticipating "to the next three telecasts" it will continue to air.
This decision coincides with large entertainment companies deal with intricate takeover attempts. These potential deals were seen as unfavourable for an sector that has experienced severe reductions over the recent period.
Similar to big production houses, traditional TV channels have struggled as the public has increasingly opted for digital platforms as an alternative.
YouTube obtaining the license to the Academy Awards clearly signals that dependence on online services will continue expanding.
