The Academy Awards Are Exiting Broadcast TV and Stream on the Video Platform Starting in the Year 2029.
The Academy Awards will begin airing only on YouTube in the year 2029, marking the newest significant shift in Hollywood.
The organization behind the Oscars made the announcement on Wednesday, confirming that it entered into a extended contract giving YouTube the unique international license to the Oscars until 2033.
The awards show, which is planned for 15 March, has aired for a half a century on ABC. Beginning in 2029, the ceremony will be viewable as a free live stream on YouTube.
It's one more significant upheaval in the entertainment world, which is grappling with corporate acquisitions and consolidations, along with severe reductions in filming.
"Our Academy represents an international organization, and this partnership will permit us to expand access to the mission of the Academy to the most extensive international crowd possible - which will be positive for our membership and the film community," said Academy leadership in a statement.
Throughout a long period, viewership of the ceremony have declined, though there was a small rise in recent years, with a considerable amount of Gen Z and millennial watchers watching from mobile devices and desktops.
In a related comment, the head of YouTube referred to the Oscars "a key essential cultural institutions" and said that working with the Academy would "inspire a fresh wave of artistic expression and movie fans while adhering to the Oscars' illustrious history".
ABC, which has aired the awards since 1976, stated that it was excited "to the next three telecasts" it will continue to air.
This decision coincides with film industry giants deal with challenging merger discussions. Such proposals were considered unfavourable for an industry that has experienced significant downsizing over the past several years.
Like major studios, cable networks have encountered challenges as the audience has chosen on-demand video instead.
The platform securing rights to the Academy Awards strongly indicates that dependence on online services will continue expanding.
