The Oscars Will Leave Broadcast TV and Broadcast Live on YouTube Beginning in 2029.
The Oscars ceremony will begin broadcasting solely on YouTube in the year 2029, representing the newest major shift in Hollywood.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences declared the decision on Wednesday, indicating that it signed a multi-year deal granting YouTube the sole worldwide broadcasting rights to the Oscars until 2033.
The Oscars, scheduled for 15 March, has been broadcast for 50 years on the traditional network. Commencing in 2029, the event will be accessible live and for free on the digital platform.
This is one more significant upheaval in Hollywood, which is grappling with company buyouts and fusions, in addition to steep slashes to movie budgets.
"The Academy is an international organization, and this partnership will enable us to increase availability to the activities of the Academy to the most extensive international crowd attainable - which will be advantageous for our membership and the film community," remarked the Academy's executives in a announcement.
Over decades, ratings of the awards show have dropped, though there was a slight uptick in 2025, with a considerable amount of Gen Z and millennial watchers tuning in from cell phones and laptops.
In a separate statement, YouTube's CEO referred to the Oscars "one of our essential pillars of culture" and said that teaming up with the Academy would "spark a fresh wave of innovation and cinema enthusiasts while remaining faithful to the Oscars' storied heritage".
The broadcast network, which has televised the awards since the mid-1970s, said that it was excited "to the upcoming broadcasts" it will still host.
This shift coincides with major studios deal with complex corporate battles. Both options were seen as problematic for an industry that has witnessed severe reductions over the last few years.
In common with major studios, cable networks have encountered challenges as the audience has chosen digital platforms instead.
The platform securing broadcasting rights to the Academy Awards further suggests that dependence on online services will carry on to grow.