On Wednesday, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced that the broadcast rights for the annual Oscars ceremony will move from the television network ‘ABC’ to the ‘YouTube’ platform owned by ‘Google’. The ceremony will be streamed live globally starting in 2029.
This decision ends a historic relationship with the ‘ABC’ network, owned by Disney, which has broadcast the prestigious film awards annually since 1976.
This shift comes amid declining traditional television viewership and the audience’s move towards digital streaming platforms. The 2025 ceremony attracted approximately 19.7 million viewers in the United States, a high number compared to the last five years, but still far from the peak of 57 million viewers in 1998.
The agreement runs from 2029 until 2033. While financial details were not disclosed, the terms of cooperation include the ‘YouTube’ platform providing subtitles and multilingual audio tracks to ensure the ceremony reaches a global audience.
‘Celebrating Cinema and Inspiring New Generations’
The broadcast will include events that were typically held behind the cameras, such as the ‘Governors Awards’ and the Oscar nominees’ luncheon.
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It was confirmed that this move will allow for ‘celebrating cinema, inspiring new generations of filmmakers, and providing access to our cinematic history on an unprecedented global scale.’
Informed sources indicated that the ‘ABC’ network made an offer to retain the broadcast rights but refused to overpay financially, especially given the difficulty of turning a profit from the broadcast in recent years.
For its part, the CEO of ‘YouTube’ stated: ‘The Oscars are one of our core cultural institutions, honoring excellence in storytelling and the arts.’
A timeline for the broadcast transition has been set. The ‘ABC’ network will continue to broadcast the ceremony in the United States as planned in 2026, including the Oscars’ centennial ceremony in 2028.
The official global launch of the broadcast on the ‘YouTube’ platform will begin in 2029.
