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The Academy Awards will commence broadcasting solely on YouTube in 2029, marking the most recent major transformation in the film industry.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences declared the decision on this week, indicating that it signed a extended contract giving YouTube the exclusive global rights to the Oscars up to 2033.

The Oscars, which is planned for March 15th, has aired for a half a century on the traditional network. Beginning in 2029, the event will be available live and for free on the digital platform.

This is another major restructuring in Hollywood, which is dealing with studio sales and mergers, in addition to steep slashes to movie budgets.

"Our Academy represents an international organization, and this alliance will allow us to increase availability to the work of the Academy to the largest worldwide audience possible - which will be advantageous for our membership and the movie industry," remarked the Academy's executives in a release.

For many years, viewership of the ceremony have dropped, although there was a slight uptick in 2025, with a considerable amount of Gen Z and millennial watchers tuning in from mobile devices and laptops.

In a corresponding announcement, the video platform's chief executive referred to the Oscars "among our vital cultural institutions" and said that teaming up with the Academy would "inspire a younger cohort of artistic expression and film lovers while remaining faithful to the Oscars' storied legacy".

The broadcast network, which has televised the ceremony since 1976, commented that it was looking forward "to hosting the event three more times" it will retain rights for.

This shift follows major studios deal with intricate takeover attempts. Both options were seen as concerning for an business that has witnessed drastic cuts over the last few years.

In common with big production houses, traditional TV channels have struggled as the audience has shifted towards on-demand video instead.

The platform securing broadcasting rights to the Academy Awards clearly signals that the dominance of online services will carry on to grow.