The Academy Awards to Depart Broadcast TV and Broadcast Live on YouTube Beginning in the Year 2029.
The Academy Awards will begin streaming exclusively on YouTube in 2029, marking the newest substantial change in Hollywood.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences made the announcement on this week, indicating that it signed a multi-year deal awarding the streaming service the unique international license to the Oscars through 2033.
The awards show, set for March 15th, has been televised for 50 years on ABC. Commencing in 2029, the event will be accessible in real-time without charge on the digital platform.
This is another significant restructuring in the entertainment world, which is navigating corporate acquisitions and consolidations, coupled with steep reductions in filming.
"Our Academy represents an worldwide body, and this partnership will allow us to increase availability to the mission of the Academy to the largest worldwide audience imaginable - which will be positive for our membership and the movie industry," said the Academy's executives in a release.
For many years, viewership of the awards show have fallen, even if there was a minor increase in recent years, with a notable portion of youthful audiences tuning in from smartphones and laptops.
In a related comment, the video platform's chief executive referred to the Oscars "one of our essential cultural touchstones" and added that working with the Academy would "inspire a fresh wave of artistic expression and movie fans while remaining faithful to the Oscars' storied history".
The broadcast network, which has aired the awards since the mid-1970s, stated that it was excited "to the upcoming broadcasts" it will retain rights for.
This decision follows major studios face complex corporate battles. Such proposals were seen as problematic for an industry that has experienced drastic cuts over the recent period.
In common with major studios, cable networks have faced issues as the viewers has increasingly opted for on-demand video instead.
YouTube winning rights to the Academy Awards strongly indicates that reliance on streaming sites will persist to grow.