Academy Awards to Shift Global Streaming to YouTube Starting 2029
The Academy Awards will transition global streaming rights from ABC to YouTube in 2029, ending a long broadcast partnership. This move follows a significant viewership decline.
Overview
The Academy Awards will transition their global streaming rights from ABC to YouTube, with the change taking effect starting in 2029.
ABC will continue to broadcast the annual Oscars ceremony until 2028, concluding a broadcast partnership that has been in place since 1961.
YouTube is set to hold the exclusive global streaming rights for the prestigious Academy Awards for a five-year period, extending until 2033.
This significant shift in broadcasting partners follows a notable decline in Oscar telecast viewership, which fell to 19.7 million by 2025.
The move from traditional television to a digital streaming platform like YouTube aims to address evolving audience viewing habits and potentially expand reach.
Analysis
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FAQ
The Academy cited declining broadcast viewership and changing audience habits as reasons; moving to YouTube aims to reach younger, digital-first viewers and expand global streaming access after linear ratings dropped to 19.7 million by 2025.[1]
Yes; ABC will continue to broadcast the annual Oscars through 2028, concluding its longstanding broadcast partnership that began in 1961, while YouTube's exclusive global streaming begins in 2029.[1]
YouTube will hold exclusive global streaming rights for a five-year period beginning in 2029 and extending through 2033.[1]
Shifting to YouTube is intended to broaden global access by leveraging YouTube’s worldwide platform and streaming infrastructure, potentially making the ceremony easier to watch internationally compared with region-restricted linear broadcasts.[1]
The decline in TV ratings — cited at 19.7 million viewers by 2025 — is presented by the Academy as a key factor prompting the switch to a major digital platform to try to reverse audience erosion and modernize distribution.[1]
