LOS ANGELES — The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and YouTube said Wednesday they have signed a multi-year agreement to stream the Oscars live and free worldwide beginning with the 101st ceremony in 2029. The move ends ABC’s long run as the show’s primary home and hands YouTube exclusive global rights through 2033, betting that Oscars YouTube can reach younger viewers and new international audiences, Dec. 17, 2025.
Under the Academy’s announcement, the telecast will be available globally on Oscars YouTube, with U.S. viewers also able to watch via YouTube TV. The package includes red-carpet coverage, behind-the-scenes access and the Governors Ball, and the Academy said the stream will feature closed captioning and audio tracks in multiple languages.
What the Oscars YouTube deal changes
ABC will continue airing the show through the 100th Oscars in 2028, according to a report from Reuters, before Oscars YouTube becomes the exclusive global destination the following year. The Academy also said its international distribution arrangement with Disney’s Buena Vista International will remain in place through the 2028 telecast.
Neither side disclosed financial terms, and details about advertising and show presentation on the platform were not immediately available.
The partnership goes beyond the main show. The Academy said YouTube will also carry year-round programming tied to Oscar season, including:
The Oscars nominations announcement and nominees luncheon
The Governors Awards
The Student Academy Awards and Scientific and Technical Awards
Filmmaker interviews, education programs and podcasts
YouTube said in a post on its official blog that Google Arts & Culture will help bring select Academy Museum exhibitions online and support digitizing parts of the Academy Collection.
Why Oscars YouTube is a bet on reach, not just ratings
The Oscars remain one of Hollywood’s biggest promotional stages, but the TV audience has shrunk from its late-1990s highs. The 2025 ceremony drew about 19.7 million U.S. viewers, a figure still far below the show’s peak era, the Associated Press reported. Supporters of the shift say a free global stream could make it easier for viewers outside the United States to watch live rather than relying on delayed broadcasts and clips.
“The Oscars are one of our essential cultural institutions,” YouTube CEO Neal Mohan said in the Academy release. Academy leaders said the partnership will “expand access” and add new ways to engage film fans as the group’s audience becomes more global.
From ABC renewals to streaming tests
The shift is also the endpoint of a rights cycle that has been in place for years. ABC and the Academy extended their deal through 2028 in 2016, a renewal first detailed by The Hollywood Reporter and later outlined in the Academy’s own release.
More recently, the Academy has leaned into multiplatform viewing, with the 2024 telecast posting a 21.01 million seven-day audience across ABC, Hulu and digital platforms, according to TheWrap — a sign the Oscars’ future could be bigger than a single broadcast window.
For now, the immediate countdown stays the same: three more Oscars on ABC, then a reinvention built around Oscars YouTube. If the new model works, Hollywood’s biggest night could become the rare mega-event that anyone with a phone — and an internet connection — can watch live, no cable required.
