The Academy Awards Will Leave Broadcast TV and Broadcast Live on YouTube Beginning in 2029.
The Academy Awards are set to start streaming exclusively on YouTube in the year 2029, marking the latest significant change in Hollywood.
The organization behind the Oscars declared the decision on this week, confirming that it entered into a long-term agreement giving YouTube the exclusive global rights to the Oscars up to 2033.
The awards show, which is planned for March 15th, has been broadcast for 50 years on ABC. Beginning in 2029, the ceremony will be accessible live and for free on YouTube.
It's another significant upheaval in the entertainment world, which is navigating studio sales and mergers, in addition to steep production cuts.
"Our Academy represents an global institution, and this collaboration will permit us to increase availability to the activities of the Academy to the most extensive international crowd imaginable - which will be advantageous for our membership and the movie industry," stated organization heads in a release.
Throughout a long period, ratings of the ceremony have declined, even if there was a small rise in recent years, with a significant number of youthful audiences tuning in from cell phones and desktops.
In a separate statement, the video platform's chief executive described the Oscars "among our essential cultural touchstones" and noted that working with the Academy would "motivate a new generation of artistic expression and cinema enthusiasts while staying true to the Oscars' storied heritage".
The broadcast network, which has televised the ceremony since the mid-1970s, commented that it was eagerly anticipating "to the upcoming broadcasts" it will still host.
This decision follows large entertainment companies deal with challenging merger discussions. Both options were seen as concerning for an industry that has witnessed drastic cuts over the past several years.
Like big production houses, traditional TV channels have encountered challenges as the viewers has shifted towards digital platforms instead.
The platform securing rights to the Academy Awards further suggests that dependence on digital platforms will carry on expanding.