Starting in 2029, the irrelevant Oscars will have its annual irrelevant Academy Awards show broadcast on — lol — YouTube.
To dwindling ratings and cultural relevance, the Oscars have been broadcast on ABC since 1976. The final broadcast will occur in 2028, which also happens to be the 100th anniversary of the award ceremony.
Between 1974 and 2019, right before the Woke Era really took off, the Oscar telecast ensured incredible ratings and served as a national cultural event. At least 30 million, and sometimes as many as 50 million viewers, tuned it. Since 2021, the ratings have remained in the teens as Hollywood became more and more insulated, their movies got progressively worse, and the overall telecast became openly hostile and even mean-spirited towards Normal People.
So now the Oscars will stream on YouTube, where anyone who wants to can watch them for free online, at least through the end of the deal in 2033.
“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 CEO Bill Kramer and Academy President Lynette Howell Taylor said in a statement published by People. “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.”
“The Oscars are one of our essential cultural institutions, honoring excellence in storytelling and artistry,” said YouTube CEO Neal Mohan. “Partnering with the Academy 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.”
According to various reports, the Disney Grooming Syndicate, which owns ABC, is happy to be rid of a ratings albatross that wasn’t worth the annual license fee, which was around $100 million per telecast.
YouTube, which is owned by Google, has that kind of money to burn. Additionally, more people watch the YouTube platform than any other, and the streaming outlet has promised to treat the Oscar telecast like a major event.
Nevertheless, this is another humiliation for the Academy — like being demoted from Broadway to vaudeville. Sure, more people attended vaudeville, but network TV is still network TV, and YouTube is still YouTube.
Conan O’Brien will host the 98th annual Oscar ceremony on Sunday, March 15, 2026. I’ll be joining 98 percent of the world in not watching.
John Nolte’s first and last novel, Borrowed Time, is winning five-star raves from everyday readers. You can read an excerpt here and an in-depth review here. Also available in hardcover and on Kindle and Audiobook.
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