The Oscars Are Exiting Broadcast TV and Broadcast Live on YouTube Starting in 2029.
The Academy Awards are set to start broadcasting solely on the global video platform in the year 2029, representing the newest significant transformation in the film industry.
The organization behind the Oscars made the announcement on this week, indicating that it signed a multi-year deal awarding the streaming service the sole worldwide broadcasting rights to the Oscars through 2033.
The Oscars, which is planned for 15 March, has been broadcast for five decades on ABC. Starting in 2029, the show will be accessible as a free live stream on the digital platform.
It's a further substantial upheaval in Hollywood, which is grappling with company buyouts and fusions, in addition to steep production cuts.
"Our Academy represents an worldwide body, and this collaboration will permit us to increase availability to the work of the Academy to the largest worldwide audience imaginable - which will be beneficial for our film artists and the cinematic world," stated the Academy's executives in a announcement.
For many years, viewership of the televised event have dropped, although there was a minor increase in recent years, with a considerable amount of youthful audiences streaming from mobile devices and computers.
In a separate statement, the video platform's chief executive described the Oscars "a key vital pillars of culture" and added that working with the Academy would "motivate a new generation of creativity and movie fans while staying true to the Oscars' illustrious heritage".
The broadcast network, which has streamed the awards since 1976, commented that it was looking forward "to the next three telecasts" it will retain rights for.
The move coincides with large entertainment companies deal with challenging merger discussions. Both options were seen as unfavourable for an industry that has experienced drastic cuts over the past several years.
Similar to major studios, traditional TV channels have encountered challenges as the audience has shifted towards digital platforms as an alternative.
YouTube winning broadcasting rights to the Oscars further suggests that dependence on online services will persist to grow.
