Topline
YouTube signed a multi-year deal to exclusively air the Academy Awards beginning with the 101st ceremony in 2029, ending a 50-year streak of the Oscars airing on ABC.
The Academy Awards will move to YouTube in 2029, the Academy said Wednesday. (Photo by ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images)
AFP via Getty Images
Key Facts
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced its partnership with YouTube will run from 2029 to 2033, during which period the Oscars will stream live for free on YouTube worldwide and for YouTube TV subscribers in the United States.
The partnership also includes livestreams of the Oscars red carpet event, behind-the-scenes content and other events sanctioned by the Academy, like its Governors Awards ceremony and the Oscar nominees luncheon.
YouTube secured the rights following a bidding war that reportedly also included NBCUniversal and longtime partner ABC, which Variety reported was involved in bidding but was “less aggressive” than other companies.
The Oscars have aired on ABC every year since 1976, and their partnership will expire in 2028 with the Academy Awards’ 100th ceremony.
Academy CEO Bill Kramer and Academy president Lynette Howell Taylor said in a statement the YouTube partnership will “expand access to the work of the Academy to the largest worldwide audience possible,” citing “YouTube’s vast reach.”
What Do We Know About The Bidding War For The Oscars?
ABC and the Academy had been in negotiations to renew their longstanding deal, but failed to reach an agreement after the Academy sought an increase in the licensing fee, Deadline reported. The exclusivity window to renew the deal expired earlier this year. Deadline also reported on tensions between ABC and the Academy over the years as ratings declined, including when the network reportedly pushed the Oscars in 2022 to present several categories before the ceremony to streamline the show. Though Oscars’ viewership was up to nearly 20 million in 2025 — an increase from 2024 and significant increase from the Covid-19 years — ratings are still half of what they were decades ago. YouTube’s bid came as it became the most-watched streaming service in the world this year, and sources familiar with talks noted to Variety the YouTube uploads of clips from the Academy Awards earn millions of views. NBC also emerged as a serious bidder, multiple outlets reported earlier this month, touting its successful Olympics broadcasts and noting it hasn’t hosted a major awards ceremony since it gave up the Golden Globes in 2023. ABC also recently inked a 10-year deal to air the Grammy Awards, lifting the ceremony from its longtime partnership with CBS, though a source familiar with ABC told Variety the new Grammys partnership was not an obstacle to renewing its Oscars deal.