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The Academy Awards Move To YouTube
Courtesy of AMPAS
The Academy Awards will broadcast on YouTube starting in 2029… ending an over 50-year relationship with ABC.
The Big Picture: Almost all of the major awards shows have migrated to streaming as rising costs and declining viewership have made it harder for networks to justify renewing deals. But streaming could allow these shows to reach far more eyeballs than in recent years, helping reduce worrying trends.
Behind The Curtain: YouTube has gotten its first Oscar-hosting gig.
YouTube’s five-year deal will start in 2029 and run through 2033.
Financial terms weren’t disclosed, but Disney had previously been paying the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) $75 million per year for the rights.
The deal will see not only the Oscars streamed worldwide for free, but also key events like the Governors Awards and the Oscars Nominations Announcement.
Additionally, YouTube will host filmmaker interviews, film education programs, and podcasts.
Final Tally: The Academy’s viewership woes have been brewing for more than a decade, especially as the roster of nominated films has increasingly diverged from the movies that actually pop at the box office. That disconnect — compounded by cord-cutting — has turned the Academy Awards into a more niche broadcast. For perspective, last year’s ceremony averaged 18.1 million viewers, compared to a peak of 55.2 million for the 1998 show, the year Titanic swept.
Still, the Oscars remain the preeminent awards show — and the most-watched of them all — which means YouTube has landed the crown jewel. Now comes the hard work of reclaiming the cultural throne.
Next Category: This may not qualify as a hot take, but expect the 2033 awards show — the final year of YouTube’s deal — to be the highest-rated show in a long time… despite which movies are in contention.
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Today’s email was written by David Vendrell.
Edited by Nick Comney. Polled and Copy-edited by Kait Cunniff.
Published by Darline Salazar.