Oscars heading for YouTube after more than 50 years on ABC
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The Oscars will move from ABC to YouTube beginning in 2029, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences said Wednesday, marking a historic milestone for the streaming TV industry.
Why it matters: What's arguably the most high-profile award show will now be accessible to more than 2 billion people globally to stream online.
Zoom in: The new deal, which gives YouTube the exclusive global rights to the Oscars with the 101st Oscars ceremony in 2029 through 2033, will see the show leaving ABC for the first time in more than 50 years.
- The ceremony will be available live on YouTube's free app globally, and on YouTube TV in the U.S.
- As part of the deal, YouTube will also broadcast a red carpet pre-show, behind-the- scenes content during the event, the Oscars nomination announcement, the Governor's Awards, and the Oscars nominees, luncheon and other Academy Awards-related content.
Catch up quick: The Oscars were first broadcast in 1953 on NBC. It moved over to ABC from 1961 to 1970 before returning to NBC for a brief stint between 1971 and 1975.
- ABC has been broadcasting the award show since 1976.
- It will end its exclusive run broadcasting the event with the 100th Oscars ceremony in 2028.
The big picture: Landing the Oscars is a major feat for YouTube, which has invested enormously in live rights over the past few years.
- Most notably, it agreed to pay roughly $2 billion per year for the NFL's popular Sunday Ticket rights package in 2022.
Zoom out: More awards shows are moving to streaming services to fight dwindling audiences on traditional TV.
- The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards moved from TNT to Netflix as part of a multiyear deal in 2024.
- The Academy of Country Music Awards left CBS for Amazon Prime Video in 2022.
Go deeper: The Oscars fight for relevance in the streaming era
