In news that will send shockwaves across the entertainment industry, the Oscars ceremony, which has aired on ABC since 1976, will be moving to YouTube starting in 2029 and will be broadcast by the streamer through at least 2033, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced Wednesday.
The Disney-owned Alphabet Network will continue to air the Oscars — long the world’s most watched awards telecast — through the 100th edition of the awards show in 2028. After that, the ceremony will be available live and for free to over two billion people around the world on YouTube, and to YouTube TV subscribers in the United States.
As part of the newly-inked deal, YouTube will broadcast not only the Oscars ceremony itself — which generated $150 million of revenue for the Academy during the fiscal year that ended on June 30, the vast majority via the TV rights deal with Disney — but also a significant amount of related content.
Also coming to YouTube: red carpet pre-show and behind-the-scenes in-show content; the Oscar nominations announcement; the Governors Awards, at which the Academy presents honorary Oscars and occasionally the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award and the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award; the Oscars Nominees Luncheon; the Student Academy Awards ceremony; the Scientific and Technical Awards ceremony; Academy member and filmmaker interviews; film education programs; podcasts; and more.
The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures will also be supported by the Google Arts & Culture initiative, which will help provide digital access to select exhibitions and programs, and help to digitize some of the more than 52 million items that are part of the Academy Collection.
Landing the world’s highest-profile and most-watched awards show is a big feather in the cap of deep-pocketed YouTube, which, as THR reported in a cover story earlier this year, is intent on becoming “the most powerful platform on earth.” Neal Mohanthe company’s CEO, said in a statement Wednesday: “The Oscars are one of our essential cultural institutions, honoring excellence in storytelling and artistry. Partnering with the Academy to bring this celebration of art and entertainment to viewers all over the world will inspire a new generation of creativity and film lovers while staying true to the Oscars’ storied legacy.”
The outgoing home of the Oscars issued a statement of its own: “ABC has been the proud home to The Oscars for more than half a century. We look forward to the next three telecasts, including the show’s centennial celebration in 2028, and wish the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences continued success.”
Going into the rights talks that led to this film, streaming was a top priority for the Academy, which was highly cognizant of linear TV’s decline. The Oscars only streamed online for the first time this year, with Disney putting the show on Hulu. Streaming platforms like YouTube and Netflix also have global reach and scale that traditional media companies can’t match. Even Disney, which had global rights to the Oscars, sold them on a country-by-country basis to local TV partners.
YouTube was sure to note in Wednesday’s press release that the Oscars will be available to YouTube TV subscribers, in addition to its two billion plus global users. Analysts expect YouTube TV to pass Comcast and Charter to become the largest pay-TV service in the U.S. at some point in the next year. By 2029, it will likely be one of the largest players in linear TV, in addition to its global scale as a creator-led platform.
While the specifics remain unclear (the deal is still four year away from beginning, after all), YouTube is expected to give many of its creators access to the awards, certainly on the red carpet, and likely in the Dolby Theater as well.
“YouTube is the epicenter of culture,” Mohan, YouTube’s CEO, told THR in September. “And what I mean by that is it is where culture is set, it creates these moments. But the amazing thing about that culture setting is that it’s participatory, it’s like a fandom.” He also emphasized that the platform wants to surround exclusive live events with access and content from creators. He was speaking about the NFL, but the logic extends to the Oscars as well: “There is all the fandom that happens around it, and many times that fandom can be not just augmenting the main event, but in many ways, sort of amplifying it. And that’s what you see with creators.”
The global reach of YouTube could also enable to Academy to pursue more aggressive sponsorship deals, similar to the global partnerships that organizations like the International Olympic Committee have. Brands like Rolex and Visa have global reach, and have also been longtime sponsors of the show on ABC. While YouTube will almost certainly seek to sell its own ad time, the Academy could also try to forge global deals with brand partners, diversifying its revenue alongside media rights.
“[Advertisers] understand that creators are the new storytellers,” Sean Downeythe executive who oversees Google’s sprawling advertising business, told THR earlier this year. “Creators have leaned-in communities and audiences, and when you tell authentic stories to them, it resonates in action and brand outcomes. We know that if you can put a brand in front of the right audiences, powered by the right voices, we can drive almost any outcome possible. And we’ve shown that to advertisers over the past several years. They can see their brand equity get lifted.”I think they see that, and they understand that YouTube is a really important player in that and they also differentiate between a creator and an influencer,” Downey adds. “I think that is really important. You have to know what an influencer is, you have to know what a creator is, and you need to know when to use them.”
The full Academy press release follows. More from us soon.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and YouTube signed a multi-year deal that will give YouTube the exclusive global rights to the Oscars®, beginning in 2029 with the 101st Oscars ceremony and running through 2033.
The Oscars, including red carpet coverage, behind-the-scenes content, Governors Ball access, and more, will be available live and for free to over 2 billion viewers around the world on YouTube, and to YouTube TV subscribers in the United States. YouTube will help make the Oscars accessible to the Academy’s growing global audience through features such as closed captioning and audio tracks available in multiple languages.
The partnership also will include worldwide access for film fans to other Academy events and programs exclusively on the Oscars YouTube channel. This will include 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.
In addition, through this holistic partnership, the Google Arts & Culture initiative will help provide digital access to select Academy Museum exhibitions and programs and help to digitize components of the Academy Collection — the largest film-related collection in the world, with more than 52 million items. It will be a true hub for film fans and will be accessible from around the world.
“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,” said Academy CEO Bill Kramer and Academy President Lynette Howell Taylor. “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. This collaboration will leverage YouTube’s vast reach and infuse the Oscars and other Academy programming with innovative opportunities for engagement while honoring our legacy. We will be able to celebrate cinema, inspire new generations of filmmakers and provide access to our film history on an unprecedented global scale.”
“The Oscars are one of our essential cultural institutions, honoring excellence in storytelling and artistry,” said Neal MohanCEO, YouTube. “Partnering with the Academy to bring this celebration of art and entertainment to viewers all over the world will inspire a new generation of creativity and film lovers while staying true to the Oscars’ storied legacy.”
The Academy’s domestic partnership for the Oscars will continue with Disney ABC through the 100th Oscars in 2028, as will the international partnership for the Oscars with Disney’s Buena Vista International.
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