The Academy Awards Will Leave ABC and Broadcast Live on the Video Platform Beginning in the Year 2029.
The Academy Awards will begin airing only on the global video platform in the year 2029, representing the latest significant shift in Hollywood.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences revealed the news on this week, indicating that it entered into a multi-year deal giving YouTube the sole worldwide broadcasting rights to the Oscars through 2033.
The Oscars, scheduled for 15 March, has been televised for a half a century on the traditional network. Starting in 2029, the ceremony will be available live and for free on YouTube.
It's a further major shakeup in Hollywood, which is navigating company buyouts and fusions, coupled with drastic slashes to movie budgets.
"The Academy is an worldwide body, and this collaboration will permit us to increase availability to the work of the Academy to the most extensive international crowd imaginable - which will be positive for our film artists and the film community," said the Academy's executives in a announcement.
Throughout a long period, ratings of the awards show have fallen, although there was a minor increase in 2025, with a notable portion of Gen Z and millennial watchers tuning in from mobile devices and computers.
In a related comment, the head of YouTube called the Oscars "a key essential cultural institutions" and noted that teaming up with the Academy would "motivate a younger cohort of innovation and movie fans while remaining faithful to the Oscars' storied history".
ABC, which has aired the awards since 1976, commented that it was excited "to the upcoming broadcasts" it will continue to air.
This shift coincides with large entertainment companies confront complex corporate battles. These potential deals were viewed as unfavourable for an industry that has experienced significant downsizing over the last few years.
Like big production houses, traditional TV channels have encountered challenges as the audience has increasingly opted for digital platforms instead.
YouTube obtaining the license to the Oscars further suggests that dependence on online services will continue to grow.