The Academy Awards Are Exiting Broadcast TV and Stream on the Video Platform Starting in 2029.
The Academy Awards will begin airing only on YouTube in the year 2029, marking the most recent major transformation in the film industry.
The organization behind the Oscars made the announcement on this week, indicating that it signed a extended contract awarding the streaming service the sole worldwide broadcasting rights to the Oscars until 2033.
The Oscars, scheduled for 15 March, has been televised for five decades on the traditional network. Beginning in 2029, the show will be viewable live and for free on YouTube.
This is one more major shakeup in the entertainment world, which is grappling with company buyouts and fusions, coupled with severe slashes to movie budgets.
"The Academy is an global institution, and this partnership will permit us to broaden reach to the activities of the Academy to the most extensive international crowd possible - which will be advantageous for our Academy members and the cinematic world," remarked the Academy's executives in a statement.
Over decades, audience numbers of the awards show have fallen, even if there was a small rise in 2025, with a significant number of Gen Z and millennial watchers watching from smartphones and laptops.
In a related comment, YouTube's CEO described the Oscars "a key essential cultural touchstones" and said that teaming up with the Academy would "inspire a fresh wave of artistic expression and movie fans while remaining faithful to the Oscars' illustrious heritage".
ABC, which has streamed the ceremony since 1976, commented that it was looking forward "to the next three telecasts" it will still host.
The move comes as major studios confront complex corporate battles. Such proposals were viewed as problematic for an sector that has experienced severe reductions over the past several years.
Like big production houses, cable networks have encountered challenges as the public has chosen on-demand video as an alternative.
The platform securing broadcasting rights to the Oscars further suggests that the dominance of streaming sites will persist expanding.
