🔗 Share this article The Academy Awards Will Leave Broadcast TV and Stream on YouTube Starting in 2029. The Academy Awards will commence broadcasting solely on YouTube in the year 2029, representing the newest substantial transformation in Hollywood. The organization behind the Oscars made the announcement on Wednesday, confirming that it signed a extended contract granting YouTube the unique international license to the Oscars through 2033. The awards show, which is planned for March 15th, has aired for a half a century on ABC. Beginning in 2029, the show will be available as a free live stream on YouTube. This is one more major restructuring in the entertainment world, which is navigating corporate acquisitions and consolidations, coupled with steep slashes to movie budgets. "The Academy is an worldwide body, and this alliance will enable us to broaden reach to the activities of the Academy to the biggest global viewership attainable - which will be beneficial for our Academy members and the movie industry," said the Academy's executives in a announcement. Over decades, audience numbers of the awards show have dropped, even if there was a minor increase in 2025, with a notable portion of Gen Z and millennial watchers tuning in from smartphones and desktops. In a separate statement, the head of YouTube called the Oscars "among our fundamental cultural institutions" and added that working with the Academy would "spark a fresh wave of creativity and movie fans while remaining faithful to the Oscars' celebrated heritage". ABC, which has aired the awards since 1976, said that it was excited "to the next three telecasts" it will still host. This decision coincides with major studios deal with challenging merger discussions. These potential deals were considered problematic for an business that has witnessed drastic cuts over the last few years. Similar to big production houses, cable networks have encountered challenges as the audience has increasingly opted for on-demand video instead. YouTube obtaining rights to the Academy Awards clearly signals that the dominance of online services will carry on expanding.