The Oscars to Depart Broadcast TV and Stream on YouTube Beginning in 2029.
The Academy Awards are set to start broadcasting solely on YouTube in the year 2029, signaling the latest significant transformation in Hollywood.
The organization behind the Oscars declared the decision on Wednesday, stating that it signed a long-term agreement granting YouTube the unique international license to the Oscars up to 2033.
The Oscars, which is planned for 15 March, has been televised for a half a century on the traditional network. Commencing in 2029, the event will be viewable as a free live stream on the digital platform.
This is one more major restructuring in Hollywood, which is grappling with company buyouts and fusions, along with steep reductions in filming.
"The Academy is an global institution, and this collaboration will allow us to broaden reach to the work of the Academy to the biggest global viewership possible - which will be advantageous for our Academy members and the film community," remarked organization heads in a release.
For many years, viewership of the televised event have fallen, even if there was a small rise in recent years, with a significant number of youthful audiences tuning in from mobile devices and desktops.
In a separate statement, the video platform's chief executive described the Oscars "among our essential pillars of culture" and added that partnering with the Academy would "motivate a new generation of innovation and film lovers while staying true to the Oscars' illustrious history".
The broadcast network, which has streamed the ceremony since the mid-1970s, stated that it was looking forward "to the next three telecasts" it will retain rights for.
This shift coincides with large entertainment companies confront challenging merger discussions. Both options were viewed as problematic for an sector that has seen severe reductions over the last few years.
Similar to big production houses, cable networks have encountered challenges as the viewers has chosen on-demand video as an alternative.
The platform securing rights to the Academy Awards further suggests that the dominance of online services will persist to grow.
