Turning point: YouTube will stream the Oscars ceremony starting in 2029
[13:09 Fri,19.December 2025 by blip]
For around 50 years, the presentation of the Academy Awards has been broadcast on the Disney channel ABC – but starting in 2029, YouTube will take over the exclusive rights to the gala. Beginning with the 101st ceremony, the event will be streamed live, worldwide, and free of charge on YouTube. This can certainly be seen as a clear sign of a change of era: a streaming portal, which was at odds with Hollywood for years due to copyright complaints, is now allowed to host the most prestigious film event and bask in its glory. Video on Demand is truly supplanting linear TV.
However, the Oscars ceremony no longer attracts as many viewers to television as in earlier times, which is why the broadcast has become less lucrative for Disney and, ultimately, probably too expensive. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which awards the Oscars, hopes to reach a larger, global audience through the deal.
Other events and programs of the Academy will also be shown exclusively on the Oscars' YouTube channel as part of the upcoming partnership, which initially runs until 2033. These include the Governors Awards, the announcement of the Oscar nominations, the Oscar Nominees Luncheon, the Student Academy Awards, the Scientific and Technical Awards, interviews with Academy members and filmmakers, film education programs, podcasts, and much more.
Furthermore, the Google Arts & Culture initiative will also assist the Academy Museum and the Academy Collection by making selected exhibitions and programs digitally accessible. The world's largest collection of film-related objects, with more than 52 million exhibits, will thus be accessible from anywhere in the world.