The Oscars Are Exiting ABC and Stream on YouTube Starting in 2029.
The Academy Awards will commence broadcasting solely on YouTube in the year 2029, signaling the latest substantial shift in the film industry.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences revealed the news on this week, stating that it finalized a long-term agreement awarding YouTube the sole worldwide broadcasting rights to the Oscars up to 2033.
The awards show, scheduled for 15 March, has been televised for five decades on the traditional network. Beginning in 2029, the ceremony will be viewable live and for free on the digital platform.
This is one more major restructuring in the entertainment world, which is navigating studio sales and mergers, in addition to steep slashes to movie budgets.
"Our Academy represents an international organization, and this partnership will allow us to expand access to the work of the Academy to the most extensive international crowd attainable - which will be positive for our membership and the movie industry," said the Academy's executives in a statement.
Throughout a long period, viewership of the televised event have declined, although there was a small rise in recent years, with a notable portion of younger viewers streaming from mobile devices and desktops.
In a related comment, the head of YouTube called the Oscars "one of our fundamental pillars of culture" and said that working with the Academy would "motivate a younger cohort of innovation and movie fans while staying true to the Oscars' celebrated heritage".
ABC, which has televised the awards since 1976, said that it was eagerly anticipating "to the upcoming broadcasts" it will still host.
This shift comes as film industry giants deal with challenging merger discussions. Both options were viewed as problematic for an industry that has seen severe reductions over the last few years.
Like big production houses, cable networks have encountered challenges as the audience has chosen digital platforms instead.
The platform securing broadcasting rights to the Oscars further suggests that the dominance of online services will persist to grow.
