The Academy Awards Are Exiting Broadcast TV and Stream on YouTube Starting in the Year 2029.
The Academy Awards are set to start streaming exclusively on YouTube in the year 2029, marking the latest significant transformation in the film industry.
The organization behind the Oscars revealed the news on this week, indicating that it signed a multi-year deal giving YouTube the unique international license to the Oscars through 2033.
The awards show, set for March 15th, has been televised for five decades on ABC. Beginning in 2029, the show will be available in real-time without charge on YouTube.
This is one more significant shakeup in the entertainment world, which is dealing with company buyouts and fusions, coupled with steep reductions in filming.
"The Academy is an worldwide body, and this collaboration will allow us to expand access to the mission of the Academy to the most extensive international crowd attainable - which will be beneficial for our film artists and the cinematic world," said the Academy's executives in a statement.
Over decades, audience numbers of the televised event have dropped, though there was a minor increase in recent years, with a considerable amount of younger viewers streaming from mobile devices and laptops.
In a corresponding announcement, YouTube's CEO referred to the Oscars "one of our fundamental pillars of culture" and said that teaming up with the Academy would "spark a fresh wave of creativity and film lovers while remaining faithful to the Oscars' storied history".
The broadcast network, which has aired the ceremony since the mid-1970s, stated that it was looking forward "to the upcoming broadcasts" it will still host.
This shift coincides with film industry giants face challenging merger discussions. Both options were considered unfavourable for an business that has witnessed severe reductions over the last few years.
Similar to big production houses, cable networks have encountered challenges as the audience has increasingly opted for streaming services instead.
YouTube obtaining broadcasting rights to the Oscars strongly indicates that reliance on online services will persist to grow.