🔗 Share this article The Academy Awards Are Exiting Broadcast TV and Broadcast Live on YouTube Starting in 2029. The Oscars ceremony will begin broadcasting solely on YouTube in the year 2029, signaling the most recent major transformation in Hollywood. The organization behind the Oscars revealed the news on Wednesday, stating that it signed a long-term agreement granting the streaming service the unique international license to the Oscars until 2033. The Oscars, set for March 15th, has been televised for five decades on ABC. Commencing in 2029, the event will be viewable live and for free on the digital platform. This is a further major restructuring in the entertainment world, which is dealing with studio sales and mergers, coupled with steep slashes to movie budgets. "Our Academy represents an international organization, and this partnership will allow us to expand access to the mission of the Academy to the biggest global viewership attainable - which will be advantageous for our membership and the movie industry," stated organization heads in a statement. For many years, audience numbers of the ceremony have declined, though there was a small rise in 2025, with a considerable amount of youthful audiences tuning in from mobile devices and laptops. In a separate statement, YouTube's CEO referred to the Oscars "a key essential pillars of culture" and added that working with the Academy would "spark a new generation of creativity and film lovers while staying true to the Oscars' storied legacy". The broadcast network, which has televised the awards since 1976, said that it was looking forward "to hosting the event three more times" it will continue to air. This shift comes as film industry giants face challenging merger discussions. Both options were seen as unfavourable for an business that has seen severe reductions over the recent period. Similar to major studios, cable networks have faced issues as the public has shifted towards streaming services as an alternative. The platform securing the license to the Academy Awards clearly signals that dependence on streaming sites will continue increasing.