The Oscars ceremony is moving to YouTube starting in 2029, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced on Wednesday.
ABC, the Oscars’ longtime home, will continue broadcasting the awards ceremony through 2028.
“We are thrilled to enter into a multifaceted global partnership with YouTube to be the future home of the Oscars and our year-round Academy programming,” Academy chief executive Bill Kramer and president Lynette Howell Taylor said. “The Academy is an international organization, and this partnership will allow us to expand access to the work of the Academy to the largest worldwide audience possible — which will be beneficial for our Academy members and the film community.”
In a statement, YouTube CEO Neal Mohan called the Oscars “one of our essential cultural institutions” and said that the partnership “to bring this celebration of art and entertainment to viewers all over the world will inspire a new generation of creativity and film lovers while staying true to the Oscars’ storied legacy.”
The awards ceremony will be available on YouTube for free, the Academy said, and the platform will retain global rights to stream it through 2033. YouTube, which is owned by Google, will also be home to other Oscars events like nominations announcements.
The Oscars’ shift to YouTube marks a major move for awards shows away from broadcast television. The ceremony has aired on ABC since the 1970s.
“ABC has been the proud home to The Oscars for more than half a century,” an ABC Entertainment spokesperson said in a statement after the announcement. “We look forward to the next three telecasts, including the show’s centennial celebration in 2028, and wish the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences continued success.”
The Oscars traditionally mark the end of awards season for movies, held after other ceremonies like the Golden Globes, Critics’ Choice Awards and Screen Actors Guild Awards.