Oscars ditch Disney, will stream on YouTube
As they're trying to absorb news about the impending sale of iconic studio Warner Bros., Hollywood found itself stunned again when the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced today that it would stream the Oscars for free on YouTube beginning in 2029.
The Academy, which has hosted the glittering awards ceremony honoring film achievement since 1929, touted the move as a win for global movie fans.
"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 Academy announced in a press statement.
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The Academy Awards will be available for free viewing on YouTube, not just for YouTube TV subscribers in the U.S. Other related Oscar events, like the nominees' luncheon, the technical awards ceremony, and red carpet coverage, will also be available on YouTube. The Academy's partnership with YouTube — owned by Google parent company Alphabet — will also enable digital access to certain exhibitions from AMPAS' brick-and-mortar Los Angeles museum and provide resources to digitize part of the museum's massive collection of celluloid artifacts.
The Oscars currently air on Disney-owned ABC and its streaming channel, Hulu, and will continue until the 100th Academy Awards ceremony in 2028. Nominations for the 98th Academy Awards will be announced on Jan. 22, 2026, with the ceremony taking place in Los Angeles on March 15.
Neal joined Mashable’s Social Good team in 2024, editing and writing stories about digital culture and its effects on the environment and marginalized communities. He is the former editorial director of The Advocate and Out magazines, has contributed to the Los Angeles Times, Curbed, and Los Angeles magazine, and is a recipient of the Sarah Pettit Memorial Award for LGBTQ Journalist of the Year Award from the National Gay and Lesbian Journalists Association (NLGJA). He lives in Los Angeles with his family.
