In a seismic announcement that sent shockwaves through Hollywood on Wednesday, the Academy confirmed it will end its more than fifty-year partnership with ABC. The deal, which begins with the 101st ceremony in 2029 and runs through 2033, marks the most prominent entertainment awards show to jettison traditional broadcast television for a digital-first platform.
“The Academy is an international organization, and this partnership will allow us to expand access to the work of the Academy to the largest worldwide audience possible,” said Academy CEO Bill Kramer and Academy President Lynette Howell Taylor in a joint statement. The ceremony, including red carpet coverage and behind-the-scenes content, will be streamed live and for free to viewers globally on YouTube, with U.S. viewers also able to watch via YouTube TV.
The End of a Broadcast Era
The move is a historic punctuation mark on the Oscars’ long broadcast history. First televised by NBC in 1953, the ceremony has called ABC home since 1976, aside from a brief stint on NBC in the early 1970s. ABC will air the awards through 2028, culminating in a grand centennial celebration for the show’s 100th ceremony.
For Disney-owned ABC, the loss is not without a sense of relief. Insider reports suggest the Academy was seeking a significant increase from the roughly $100 million per year Disney was paying, an amount that no longer made financial sense for the network given the show’s declining ratings. Insiders believe YouTube outbid competitors with a nine-figure offer, surpassing bids from Disney and NBCUniversal.
“ABC has been the proud home to The Oscars for more than half a century,” the network stated. “We look forward to the next three telecasts…and wish the Academy…continued success”.
Why YouTube? A Calculated Gamble for Global Reach
The Academy’s choice of YouTube—a platform better known for creator content than live prestige telecasts—initially stunned the industry. However, it represents a calculated strategy to combat two major challenges: plummeting domestic viewership and a desire for international growth.
Oscar ratings have collapsed from a peak of 57 million U.S. viewers in 1998 (the year of Titanic) to just 19.7 million in 2025. Simultaneously, the Academy has aggressively expanded its voting membership internationally, with 21% of voters now based outside the U.S..
YouTube’s key advantages:
- Unmatched Scale:Â With over 2 billion monthly logged-in users worldwide, YouTube offers a potential audience no single broadcaster can match.
- Built-in Accessibility:Â The platform can easily deliver the show with multi-language audio tracks and closed captioning, breaking down barriers for global fans.
- Reaching New Generations:Â As the dominant streaming platform, especially among younger viewers, YouTube is where the Academy hopes to cultivate the next generation of film lovers.
A New Creative Frontier and Lingering Questions
Liberated from broadcast television’s rigid time slots and FCC guidelines, the Oscars telecast could transform dramatically. The show could run longer, acceptance speeches could be uncut, and hosts might embrace a edgier tone. As one industry insider quipped, “You can have a six-hour Oscars hosted by MrBeast”.
The partnership extends far beyond one night. YouTube will become a year-round hub for the Academy, hosting events like the Governors Awards and the Student Academy Awards, and launching an ambitious project to digitize portions of the Academy’s vast historical archives.
Yet, major questions remain unanswered:
- Production:Â YouTube lacks the live production infrastructure of a major network. It has three years to build a team capable of executing television’s most scrutinized live event.
- Impact: Will the show retain its cultural gravitas on a platform of endless distractions? As screenwriter Daniel Kunka posted on X, “YouTube broadcasting the Oscars is like shaking hands with the guy who’s trying to kill you,” referencing the tension between traditional cinema and the digital ecosystem.
- Measurement:Â How will success be defined without traditional Nielsen ratings, and can the show hold the attention of an audience accustomed to skipping with a click?
The move is a stark admission that the future of mass audience events is digital. It follows a trend of awards shows migrating to streaming, like the SAG Awards moving to Netflix. For a venerable institution celebrating filmed artistry, the ultimate irony is that its survival now depends on embracing the very platform that disrupted its business model.
The 2028 centennial on ABC will be a farewell to broadcast. When the curtain rises on YouTube in 2029, Hollywood will discover if its biggest night can still shine in the infinite scroll.
 ShowbizzToday.com for ongoing analysis of this industry-transforming deal.