The Oscars will exclusively air on YouTube starting in 2029

The entertainment industry’s most well-known awards show is heading to streaming. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) has announced that the Academy Awards, popularly known as the Oscars, will exclusively air on YouTube starting in 2029. The new deal means the awards show is abandoning its long-time partnership with ABC (owned by frequent Oscars heavyweight, The Walt Disney Company), though the Oscars will continue to air on the network through its 100th anniversary in 2028.

The Academy Awards will be joined by other Academy events and programming on the Oscars YouTube channel, including “the Governors Awards, the Oscars Nominations Announcement, the Oscars Nominees Luncheon, the Student Academy Awards, the Scientific and Technical Awards, Academy member and filmmaker interviews, film education programs, podcasts, and more,” AMPAS says. The Google Arts & Culture initiative will also digitize artifacts in the Academy collection and help provide digital access online as part of the new partnership.

“We are thrilled to enter into a multifaceted global partnership with YouTube to be the future home of the Oscars and our year-round Academy programming,” Academy CEO Bill Kramer and Academy President Lynette Howell Taylor said in the announcement of the new YouTube deal. “The Academy is an international organization, and this partnership will allow us to expand access to the work of the Academy to the largest worldwide audience possible — which will be beneficial for our Academy members and the film community.”

Awards shows have struggled to find their footing in the streaming era, particularly because they already served a niche audience even when broadcast TV was the norm. Prior to the Oscars heading to YouTube, Netflix snagged the rights to stream the SAG Awards in 2023, an acting-focused award show that’s often seen as a precursor to the Oscars.