YouTube secures exclusive global rights to broadcast the Oscars

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has signed a multi-year agreement that will make YouTube the exclusive global broadcaster of the Oscars beginning in 2029, according to a joint statement.

The deal was announced on Wednesday by the Academy and YouTube. Under the agreement, YouTube will hold exclusive global rights to the Oscars beginning in 2029 with the 101st ceremony and continuing through 2033.

The Oscars will be streamed live and free on YouTube to more than 2 billion viewers worldwide, with YouTube TV subscribers in the United States also able to watch the broadcast, according to the Academy.

The Academy said the partnership will include live coverage of the red carpet, behind-the-scenes content, and access to the Governors Ball. YouTube will also provide features such as closed captioning and audio tracks in multiple languages to broaden accessibility for international audiences.

Beyond the annual ceremony, the agreement gives YouTube exclusive worldwide access to a wide range of Academy events and programs through the Oscars YouTube channel. These include the Governors Awards, the Oscars nominations announcement, the Oscars Nominees Luncheon, the Student Academy Awards, the Scientific and Technical Awards, and interviews with Academy members and filmmakers, as well as educational programs and podcasts.

The partnership also includes collaboration with Google Arts & Culture to provide digital access to select Academy Museum exhibitions and programs and to help digitize parts of the Academy Collection, which the Academy describes as the world’s largest film-related collection, containing more than 52 million items.

“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,” said Academy CEO Bill Kramer and Academy President Lynette Howell Taylor. “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.”

The Academy said its existing domestic broadcast partnership with ABC will continue through the 100th Oscars ceremony in 2028, as will the international distribution agreement with Disney’s Buena Vista International.

ABC has televised the Oscars continuously since 1976, making the YouTube agreement the first major change in the ceremony’s U.S. broadcast home in five decades.