The Academy Awards to Depart ABC and Broadcast Live on the Video Platform Beginning in 2029.
The Academy Awards are set to start streaming exclusively on YouTube in the year 2029, marking the newest major shift in the film industry.
The organization behind the Oscars revealed the news on Wednesday, confirming that it signed a extended contract granting the streaming service the exclusive global rights to the Oscars through 2033.
The Oscars, which is planned for March 15th, has aired for a half a century on ABC. Starting in 2029, the ceremony will be viewable as a free live stream on the digital platform.
This is a further substantial restructuring in the entertainment world, which is navigating corporate acquisitions and consolidations, in addition to steep slashes to movie budgets.
"Our Academy represents an worldwide body, and this collaboration will permit us to increase availability to the activities of the Academy to the largest worldwide audience imaginable - which will be advantageous for our Academy members and the cinematic world," stated Academy leadership in a statement.
For many years, ratings of the televised event have fallen, though there was a small rise in 2025, with a considerable amount of youthful audiences streaming from mobile devices and laptops.
In a related comment, the video platform's chief executive described the Oscars "one of our fundamental cultural touchstones" and added that partnering with the Academy would "inspire a younger cohort of innovation and movie fans while remaining faithful to the Oscars' storied heritage".
The broadcast network, which has televised the awards since 1976, stated that it was eagerly anticipating "to the next three telecasts" it will still host.
This decision follows major studios deal with challenging merger discussions. These potential deals were considered problematic for an industry that has experienced severe reductions over the recent period.
In common with major studios, cable networks have faced issues as the public has shifted towards on-demand video as an alternative.
YouTube obtaining the license to the Oscars further suggests that dependence on streaming sites will persist to grow.
