Oscars to Stream Live on YouTube Worldwide From 2029, Ending ABC’s Nearly 50-Year Broadcast Era
The Academy Awards will undergo a major distribution shift as the Oscars are set to stream live globally on YouTube starting in 2029, ending ABC’s decades-long role as the ceremony’s broadcast home. ABC, owned by Walt Disney, has aired the Oscars every year since 1976. The new agreement, announced jointly by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and YouTube, will run from 2029 through 2033.
The move reflects changing viewer habits as traditional television audiences for award shows continue to decline, while streaming platforms gain prominence. Although the 2025 Oscars drew 19.7 million viewers in the US—the strongest performance in five years—this figure remains far below the event’s peak of 57 million viewers in 1998. The Academy had already begun experimenting with digital distribution by offering the 2025 ceremony via live streaming on Hulu.
Under the YouTube partnership, the Oscars will feature closed captioning and multilingual audio, significantly expanding access for international audiences. In addition to the main ceremony, YouTube will stream Academy events such as the Governors Awards and the Oscar nominees luncheon. ABC will continue to broadcast the Oscars in the US through 2028, with its final telecast coinciding with the 100th anniversary of the Academy Awards.
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