One of television’s longest-running traditions is about to make a historic leap to streaming.
Starting in 2029, YouTube will become the exclusive home of the Academy Awards, after securing a landmark deal with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The agreement will kick off with the 101st Oscars and run through 2033, marking the first time one of the “Big Four” awards shows fully leaves broadcast television in favor of streaming.
ABC, the Oscars’ broadcast partner since 1961 (with a brief break in the early 1970s,) will continue airing the ceremony through 2028, after which the torch officially passes to YouTube.
While the financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, the implications are massive. The Oscars will stream live and for free on YouTube to more than 2 billion users worldwide, with additional access via YouTube TV for U.S. viewers.
For the Academy, the move is a direct response to changing viewing habits. Oscar ratings have steadily declined over the past two decades, dropping from a peak of roughly 55 million viewers in 1998 to closer to 20 million in recent years.
In a joint statement, Academy CEO Bill Kramer and President Lynette Howell Taylor framed the partnership as a global expansion play:
“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.”
YouTube’s role goes far beyond airing the ceremony itself. As part of the deal, the platform will host a year-round Oscars ecosystem, including:
- Red carpet and pre-show coverage
- Behind-the-scenes and Governors Ball access
- Oscar nominations announcements
- Interviews with Academy members and filmmakers
- Film education programs and podcasts
In other words, the Oscars are becoming an always-on content franchise, not a once-a-year TV moment.
YouTube CEO Neal Mohan positioned the move as both cultural stewardship and future-building:
“Partnering with the Academy to bring this celebration of art and entertainment to viewers all over the world will inspire a new generation of creativity and film lovers.”
This isn’t the first awards show to embrace streaming, Netflix notably acquired the rights to the SAG Awards, but it is the first time a major awards institution has completely abandoned broadcast TV.
With the Emmys, Grammys, Oscars, and Tonys long considered untouchable pillars of linear television, YouTube’s win signals a definitive shift: live, global, platform-native distribution is no longer the future of awards shows, it’s the present.
For YouTube, this is another step in its evolution from “video platform” to full-fledged television network. For the Oscars, it’s a bet that relevance in the next decade depends on accessibility, scale, and meeting audiences where they already are.
And for broadcast TV? The countdown to reinvention just got a little louder.