Oscars to stream on YouTube starting in 2029, leaving ABC
The Academy Awards will begin streaming exclusively on YouTube in 2029, the latest big change in Hollywood.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced Wednesday that it has signed a multi-year deal that will give YouTube exclusive global rights to the Oscars through 2033.
The Oscars, scheduled for March 15, have been broadcast on ABC for half a century. Starting in 2029, the show will be available to watch live and for free on YouTube.
It’s the latest change in Hollywood, which has been dealing with studio sales and mergers as well as drastic production cutbacks.
“The Academy is an international organization, and this partnership will allow us to expand access to the Academy’s work to the widest possible audience worldwide, which will benefit our Academy members and the film community,” Academy CEO Bill Kramer and Academy President Lynette Howell Taylor said in a statement. he said.
Over the decades, the awards show’s viewership has declined, but there has been a slight increase in 2025, with a significant number of younger viewers watching from mobile phones and computers.
In a statement, YouTube CEO Neal Mohan called the Oscars “one of our core cultural institutions” and said the partnership with the Academy “will inspire a new generation of creativity and film lovers while staying true to the Oscars’ long-standing legacy.”
ABC, meanwhile, said it was still looking forward to the “next three telecasts” it will host. It has been broadcasting the awards, US cinema’s highest honor, since 1976.
The movement sounds like this Warner Bros. Discovery on Wednesday has suggested its shareholders reject Paramount Skydance’s hostile takeover bid for a rival bid from streaming giant Netflix.
Both options were seen as negative for an industry that has experienced major disruptions over the past few years. Like the major studios, cable networks have faced problems as the public prefers streaming services.
YouTube’s acquisition of the rights to the Academy Awards shows that dependence on streaming sites will continue.
