The Academy Awards to Depart Broadcast TV and Broadcast Live on the Video Platform Starting in the Year 2029.
The Academy Awards are set to start broadcasting solely on YouTube in the year 2029, marking the newest significant change in Hollywood.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences revealed the news on this week, indicating that it finalized a multi-year deal awarding YouTube the sole worldwide broadcasting rights to the Oscars up to 2033.
The Oscars, scheduled for March 15th, has been broadcast for 50 years on the traditional network. Beginning in 2029, the event will be available as a free live stream on YouTube.
This is one more substantial shakeup in Hollywood, which is dealing with company buyouts and fusions, coupled with steep reductions in filming.
"The Academy is an global institution, and this partnership will permit us to increase availability to the mission of the Academy to the largest worldwide audience imaginable - which will be beneficial for our membership and the cinematic world," said organization heads in a statement.
Throughout a long period, ratings of the awards show have dropped, though there was a slight uptick in 2025, with a considerable amount of youthful audiences watching from cell phones and desktops.
In a corresponding announcement, YouTube's CEO referred to the Oscars "among our fundamental cultural touchstones" and noted that working with the Academy would "inspire a new generation of creativity and cinema enthusiasts while staying true to the Oscars' storied legacy".
ABC, which has televised the awards since the mid-1970s, stated that it was eagerly anticipating "to hosting the event three more times" it will continue to air.
The move follows major studios deal with complex corporate battles. Such proposals were viewed as concerning for an industry that has experienced significant downsizing over the recent period.
Like major studios, traditional TV channels have struggled as the viewers has chosen digital platforms as an alternative.
YouTube winning the license to the Oscars clearly signals that the dominance of digital platforms will continue to grow.
