YouTube will become the exclusive streaming home of the Oscars beginning in 2029, a landmark media-rights shift that ends ABC’s long-standing relationship with the Academy Awards broadcast. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences said the agreement starts with the 101st Academy Awards in 2029 and runs through 2033, while ABC will continue to air the ceremony through 2028.
Financial terms were not disclosed. Still, the move underscores how major live events are increasingly migrating toward streaming platforms as traditional TV audiences fragment and advertisers follow viewers to digital screens.
A historic handoff from ABC to YouTube
For decades, ABC has been synonymous with the Oscars, carrying the awards show since 1961, with the exception of a brief period in the early 1970s. The new deal marks a rare changing of the guard for one of entertainment’s most recognized annual broadcasts and signals the Academy’s desire to broaden reach beyond the constraints of linear television.
Under the arrangement, the Oscars will be available live and free to more than 2 billion viewers globally on YouTube, according to the announcement. In the United States, the ceremony will also be available to YouTube TV subscribers, aligning the event with YouTube’s broader push into the living-room experience and paid television bundles.
Why the Academy is betting on streaming
The Academy’s decision comes as Oscar viewership has faced sustained pressure over the last two decades. Ratings have fallen substantially from a peak of roughly 55 million viewers in 1998 to closer to 20 million in recent years, an erosion that reflects broader shifts in how audiences discover movies, follow celebrities, and engage with live programming.
In a joint statement, Academy CEO Bill Kramer and Academy President Lynette Howell Taylor framed the YouTube partnership as both a distribution upgrade and an international expansion strategy. They described the agreement as a “multifaceted global partnership” designed to increase access to Academy programming year-round and to reach the largest possible worldwide audience.
That emphasis on year-round engagement is notable. Rather than treating the Oscars as a single-night event, the Academy appears to be leaning into an always-on content model that can cultivate audiences over time, particularly younger viewers who may be more likely to watch clips, interviews, and creator-driven formats than a three-hour live telecast.
What YouTube gets: a prestige live event plus a content engine
For YouTube, the Oscars are not just another live stream. They are a high-profile cultural product that can anchor advertising, sponsorships, and platform engagement while reinforcing YouTube’s claim that it is a serious destination for premium programming.
YouTube CEO Neal Mohan called the Oscars “one of our essential cultural institutions,” positioning the deal as both a global celebration of film and a way to “inspire a new generation of creativity and film lovers” while maintaining the show’s legacy.
Beyond the main ceremony, YouTube will also carry a slate of ancillary programming, including:
- Red carpet coverage
- Behind-the-scenes content
- The Oscar nominations announcement
- Interviews with Academy members and filmmakers
- Access to the Governors Ball
- Film education programs
- Podcasts and additional Academy content
This broader package matters because it turns the Oscars into a multi-format franchise that can live across devices and viewing habits. It also gives YouTube inventory that is attractive to brand partners seeking adjacency to premium entertainment and celebrity-driven moments.
What it means for live TV, streaming rights, and advertisers
The Oscars deal is another signal that streaming rights for major live events are becoming a central battleground. While sports have led the charge in big-ticket live streaming, entertainment tentpoles are increasingly following, especially when they can leverage global distribution and free access at scale.
For advertisers, YouTube’s offering provides a different value proposition than traditional broadcast: global reach, digital measurement, and the ability to pair a live event with targeted campaigns, follow-on clips, and extended engagement across related content. For the Academy, the promise is that a massive digital platform can help rebuild relevance, especially among audiences who primarily consume video through mobile apps and connected TVs.
At the same time, the shift raises familiar questions about how a live cultural event will feel on a platform known for creator content, algorithmic discovery, and rapid-fire viewing. The Academy and YouTube will have several years before 2029 to define the viewing experience, moderation approach, and surrounding programming in a way that preserves the Oscars’ prestige while taking advantage of YouTube’s scale.
The countdown to the 101st Oscars
With ABC retaining the broadcast through 2028, the industry now has a clear runway to watch how the Academy and YouTube build toward the 2029 handoff. If the partnership succeeds, it could accelerate similar moves by other awards shows and marquee cultural broadcasts seeking to stabilize audiences and expand internationally.
For viewers, the headline is straightforward: starting in 2029, the Oscars will be one click away on YouTube, with a much larger ecosystem of official content surrounding Hollywood’s biggest night.
1 Comment
It’s interesting to see such a major shift from traditional TV to streaming for an event as iconic as the Oscars. I wonder how this will change the viewing experience and if it will make the awards more accessible to younger audiences. Either way, it definitely marks the end of an era for ABC.