Starting in 2029, the Oscars will stream live on YouTube. This marks the end of a nearly 50 year relationship with ABC. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the broadcast network will continue to air the Oscars up to its 100th anniversary in 2028.
Under its new multi year deal, YouTube will hold exclusive global streaming rights to the Oscars from 2029 through 2033. This includes the official ceremony, red carpet, and related events.
A Symbolic Blow to Broadcast Television
Losing the Oscars is not just a symbolic loss for ABC.
Awards shows are some of the last non-sports events that still pull in large live audiences. Analysts see the Oscars-YouTube deal as proof that prestigious events no longer need U.S. broadcast networks in an era dominated by streaming platforms.
Instead of being limited to a single U.S. network, the Oscars will be accessible to more than two billion potential users across phones, laptops, smart TVs, and tablets.
That scale is hard to ignore. Especially when Oscars ratings on ABC have fallen from around 55 million U.S. viewers in the late 1990s to roughly 20 million in recent years.
The decline is a reflection of how people watch television now.
Younger Audiences Prefer Streaming Over Linear TV
Gen Z and Millennials don’t organize their lives around the rigid schedules of linear TV. They watch their favorite shows on streaming apps. They’ll post clips the next day on X/Twitter or TikTok. They watch highlights pushed to them by algorithms. Plus, rising costs for literally everything is causing more people to cut the cord.
Broadcast television still has its place. Older audiences prefer traditional TV for breaking news and live sports. Yet its cultural relevance is nothing like it was twenty years ago.
Will the Grammys and Others Follow?
It remains to be seen if the Grammys or the Golden Globes will follow suit.
Many of these awards are locked into long-term contracts with the parent companies of broadcast networks.
What will probably happen is that some awards will embrace a hybrid model. They could make the ceremonies available to stream live on top of a traditional broadcast on legacy networks.
Can Traditional TV Survive This?
Traditional TV is shrinking, but it’s not dying out yet. Broadcast and cable still reach tens of millions of viewers every month. Live sports and breaking news still give linear TV some value.
Traditional TV can’t rely on prestige events alone. If more entertainment specials make the switch to streaming, regular TV will struggle to draw in younger viewers.
Survival now depends on adaptation.The Oscars moving to YouTube won’t kill broadcast TV, but it makes its future harder to define.
