The Academy Awards will leave traditional broadcast television and move exclusively to YouTube beginning in 2029, marking a historic shift for one of Hollywood’s most established institutions. Organizers said the Oscars will stream live worldwide on the platform, ending a nearly five-decade run on ABC and reflecting the entertainment industry’s accelerating move toward digital audiences.
The announcement confirms that Walt Disney-owned ABC, which has aired the Oscars every year since 1976, will no longer carry the ceremony after 2028.
Although the network submitted a bid to retain the rights, a source familiar with the negotiations said ABC was unwilling to pay a higher price as it became harder to generate profits from the broadcast. Financial terms of the YouTube agreement were not disclosed.
Audience trends played a decisive role in the transition. While the 2025 Oscars attracted 19.7 million viewers in the United States, the strongest performance in five years, that figure still remained far below the event’s peak of 57 million viewers in 1998. This year’s ceremony also streamed live on Hulu, signaling the Academy’s growing openness to digital distribution.
Streaming strategy reflects changing viewing habits
Under the new agreement, YouTube will stream the Oscars globally from 2029 through 2033. The platform will offer closed captioning and multiple language audio tracks, a move aimed at expanding accessibility and reaching international audiences more effectively. In addition to the main ceremony, YouTube will also stream events such as the Governors Awards and the Oscar nominees luncheon, which traditionally took place off-camera.
YouTube chief executive Neal Mohan described the Oscars as a cultural institution that celebrates storytelling and artistic excellence. He said the partnership would allow the ceremony to connect with viewers around the world through YouTube’s global reach. Academy leadership echoed that view, noting that the platform will help the organization showcase cinema and film history on a scale not previously possible.
Despite the long-term shift, ABC will continue to air the Academy Awards in the United States through 2028. That schedule includes the 100th anniversary ceremony, which will mark a symbolic milestone before the transition to YouTube begins.
The move underscores broader changes in how major live events reach audiences. As viewers increasingly favor streaming over traditional television, even legacy broadcasts like the Oscars are adapting to remain relevant in a fragmented media landscape.
