The Oscars Are Exiting Broadcast TV and Stream on the Video Platform Beginning in 2029.
The Academy Awards will begin streaming exclusively on YouTube in the year 2029, representing the newest significant change in Hollywood.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences made the announcement on this week, stating that it signed a multi-year deal giving YouTube the sole worldwide broadcasting rights to the Oscars up to 2033.
The Oscars, which is planned for 15 March, has been broadcast for five decades on the traditional network. Commencing in 2029, the event will be available as a free live stream on YouTube.
It's a further significant restructuring in the entertainment world, which is navigating studio sales and mergers, along with steep slashes to movie budgets.
"The Academy is an global institution, and this alliance will permit us to broaden reach to the work of the Academy to the most extensive international crowd attainable - which will be beneficial for our membership and the cinematic world," remarked Academy leadership in a release.
For many years, ratings of the ceremony have fallen, though there was a minor increase in 2025, with a notable portion of youthful audiences watching from smartphones and desktops.
In a related comment, YouTube's CEO referred to the Oscars "a key fundamental cultural touchstones" and said that teaming up with the Academy would "motivate a new generation of innovation and cinema enthusiasts while staying true to the Oscars' illustrious heritage".
The broadcast network, which has streamed the awards since 1976, said that it was looking forward "to hosting the event three more times" it will still host.
The move coincides with large entertainment companies confront challenging merger discussions. Such proposals were considered problematic for an sector that has witnessed drastic cuts over the past several years.
In common with big production houses, cable networks have encountered challenges as the audience has chosen streaming services as an alternative.
The platform securing rights to the Academy Awards strongly indicates that dependence on online services will persist to grow.
