Imagine an elderly relative settling into her favorite chair on Oscar night, remote in hand, only to encounter endless static. By 2029, this scene will unfold in millions of U.S. homes as the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences ends its nearly 50-year run with ABC, shifting the ceremony exclusively to YouTube for live, free streaming to over 2 billion global users through 2033.
The Academy revealed the deal in December 2025 with restrained enthusiasm, highlighting YouTube’s worldwide reach. ABC, which has carried the Oscars since 1976, exits without fanfare—no special broadcasts or public goodbyes. The 2028 event, marking the ceremony’s 100th edition, stands as ABC’s final airing. This transition severs a deep cultural tie, treating decades of shared viewing as a mere business pivot.
Declining Viewership Drives Change
Harsh ratings underscored the urgency. The 2025 Oscars attracted 18.1 million viewers, a 7% drop from 19.5 million in 2024. Earlier lows hit 10.4 million in 2021, with partial rebounds to 16.6 million in 2022 and 18.7 million in 2023. Comparable awards fared worse: Golden Globes at 9.3 million, Grammys at 15.4 million, down 9% from the prior year. These figures exposed broadcast television’s vulnerabilities amid cord-cutting and streaming rivals, prompting the Academy’s strategic pivot.
Negotiation Struggles and Financial Realities
Disney-owned ABC battled to retain rights but balked at escalating costs. The Oscars once yielded $75 to $150 million yearly in ad revenue for the network, offset by high production, talent, and infrastructure expenses. Analysts estimate YouTube’s annual payment falls in a similar range, offering the Academy stable income decoupled from fluctuating ratings. ABC sheds revenue but also burdensome costs and regulations, while YouTube secures exclusive global rights to the ceremony, red carpet, Governors Awards, nominees’ luncheon, and extras like multilingual captions and audio descriptions.
Global Reach Versus Domestic Barriers
Academy CEO Bill Kramer framed the move as expanding access to cinema worldwide, aligning with an event that honors filmmakers from India, Japan, Brazil, and beyond. YouTube spans over 200 countries, dwarfing ABC’s U.S.-centric syndication and enabling simultaneous global livestreams, ending long delays for international audiences. Yet about half of American households depend on cable or broadcast TV without streaming setups or reliable broadband. An estimated 30 to 40 million viewers, many over 65, face a steep digital hurdle—learning apps and platforms just to watch a free event they once tuned into effortlessly.
The Broader Cultural and Industry Fallout
This exodus signals appointment television’s demise, where live events unified audiences through scarcity and simultaneity. Streaming fragments viewing: live streams compete with clips, on-demand replays, and social summaries. Viewership metrics shift too—YouTube reports views and engagement, not Nielsen ratings, clouding comparisons. Hollywood’s turmoil amplifies the stakes: studios consolidate, streaming giants like Netflix fund Oscar contenders, and prestige films wane amid franchise dominance. The Oscars’ YouTube home juxtaposes high cinema with the platform’s chaotic user content, from tutorials to viral stunts.
Three more years—2026, 2027, and 2028—offer a broadcast grace period, potentially turning the centennial into a nostalgic sendoff. The switch bets on global growth to reverse declines, but opaque data may hide whether it succeeds or masks further erosion. Other awards like Emmys and Grammys watch closely, weighing streaming leaps against broadcast holdouts. Ultimately, the 101st Oscars in 2029 redefine a ritual once central to American living rooms, prioritizing planetary access over domestic ease and risking deeper divides in who shares the glamour.
Sources:
Deadline – “Oscars Audience Up To 19.69 Million After Disney Adds Mobile & PC Viewing” (March 2025)
India Today – “Oscars 2021 records lowest-ever TV ratings, viewership drops to below 10 million” (April 2025)
Reddit/IMDb News – “2025 Oscars Score 18 Million Viewers, Down 7% From Last Year” (March 2025)
LA Times – “Golden Globes bring in 9.3 million viewers, down 2% from previous year” (January 2025)
New York Times – “Grammy Awards Audience Drops 9%” (February 2025)
Hollywood Reporter – “Film Academy Grows Oscars Revenue to $150 Million” (December 2025)