The Academy Awards Will Leave ABC and Stream on the Video Platform Beginning in the Year 2029.
The Oscars ceremony are set to start airing only on the global video platform in 2029, signaling the most recent significant shift in the film industry.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences made the announcement on this week, confirming that it signed a long-term agreement awarding YouTube the exclusive global rights to the Oscars up to 2033.
The awards show, which is planned for 15 March, has been broadcast for five decades on the traditional network. Beginning in 2029, the event will be viewable live and for free on YouTube.
This is a further significant restructuring in the entertainment world, which is grappling with studio sales and mergers, coupled with steep slashes to movie budgets.
"The Academy is an international organization, and this collaboration will allow us to broaden reach to the mission of the Academy to the largest worldwide audience imaginable - which will be advantageous for our film artists and the movie industry," stated the Academy's executives in a release.
For many years, audience numbers 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 laptops.
In a corresponding announcement, YouTube's CEO described the Oscars "a key fundamental pillars of culture" and said that working with the Academy would "inspire a younger cohort of creativity and movie fans while remaining faithful to the Oscars' storied heritage".
ABC, which has aired the ceremony since the mid-1970s, said that it was eagerly anticipating "to the upcoming broadcasts" it will retain rights for.
This decision comes as major studios face complex corporate battles. Both options were viewed as concerning for an industry that has experienced severe reductions over the recent period.
Similar to big production houses, traditional TV channels have struggled as the audience has chosen on-demand video as an alternative.
YouTube obtaining broadcasting rights to the Academy Awards strongly indicates that dependence on digital platforms will carry on to grow.
