According to Variety, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has signed a multiyear agreement granting YouTube exclusive global broadcast rights to the Oscars beginning in 2029.
The deal starts with the 101st Academy Awards and runs through 2033. ABC, which has aired the film industry’s biggest night for decades, will retain broadcast rights through 2028, including the ceremony’s centennial celebration.
Beginning in 2029, the Oscars will stream live and free worldwide on YouTube, including red carpet coverage, behind-the-scenes programming and the Governors Ball. In the United States, the ceremony will also be available to YouTube TV subscribers. Commercials will continue to air during the broadcast, according to people familiar with the arrangement.
Academy CEO Bill Kramer and Academy President Lynette Howell Taylor said the move reflects the organization’s increasingly global outlook and the need to reach audiences beyond traditional television.
“This partnership will allow us to expand access to the work of the Academy to the largest worldwide audience possible,” Kramer and Howell Taylor said in a joint statement, citing features such as multilingual audio tracks and closed captioning as key advantages of the platform.
YouTube CEO Neal Mohan called the Oscars “one of our essential cultural institutions” and said the partnership aims to bring the ceremony to new generations of viewers while preserving its legacy.
The shift comes as awards shows continue to grapple with declining linear television viewership and changing audience habits, even as the Oscars remain one of the most-watched entertainment events in the world. While recent ceremonies have drawn solid audiences by modern broadcast standards, they remain far below the peak ratings of previous decades.
The move to YouTube marks one of the most significant distribution changes in the Oscars’ nearly century-long history and reflects the growing role of streaming platforms in hosting major live cultural events.