The Oscars Will Abandon Broadcast TV For YouTube In 2029 (variety.com)
- Reference: 0180412749
- News link: https://news.slashdot.org/story/25/12/17/210247/the-oscars-will-abandon-broadcast-tv-for-youtube-in-2029
- Source link: https://variety.com/2025/film/news/oscars-youtube-2029-1236610989/
> The Oscars, including red carpet coverage, behind-the-scenes content and Governors Ball, will be available live and for free on YouTube to viewers around the world, as well as to YouTube TV subscribers in the United States. Architects of the agreement said they hope the move to YouTube will help make the Oscars more accessible to "the Academy's growing global audience through features such as closed captioning and audio tracks available in multiple languages." [...]
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> The Academy had been seeking a new broadcast licensing agreement for the better part of 2025. Over the summer, several expected and unconventional buyers, including NBCUniversal and Netflix, had come into the mix as potential suitors. Insiders believe that YouTube shelled out over nine figures for the Oscars, besting the high eight-figure offers from Disney/ABC and NBCUniversal. Under the most recent contract, Disney was paying around $100 million annually for the Oscars -- but given the ratings declines for the kudocast, Disney/ABC were reportedly looking to spend less on license fees.
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> [...] It's not a secret that the Academy and Disney/ABC would occasionally have disagreements over the best path for the Oscars, including the show's length, which awards to present and who should host. Now, on a streamer with no time limits, the Oscars can be any length, and the Academy likely has carte blanche to do whatever it wants with the telecast. "They can do whatever they want," says one insider. "You can have a six-hour Oscars hosted by MrBeast."
[1] https://variety.com/2025/film/news/oscars-youtube-2029-1236610989/
Wait, the Oscars are still a thing? (Score:5, Insightful)
Haven't watched them since the amount of soapboxing at the altar made it a miserable experience.
Re: (Score:2)
Hollywood was always "woke". You just weren't brainwashed back then.
Re: Wait, the Oscars are still a thing? (Score:1)
Hollywood was woke the same way GM and Ford were Republican: they had their opinions but they still wanted everyone's money, not just half of everyone's money.
ZZzzzz... (Score:2)
It's a snooze fest. If you actually care about the winners, that's easy to find out later. If there is somehow some great speech or happening, that'll be available on YouTube later as clips. No need to sit through the pain of the 3-4 hours of bullshit live.
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> It's a snooze fest. If you actually care about the winners, that's easy to find out later. If there is somehow some great speech or happening, that'll be available on YouTube later as clips. No need to sit through the pain of the 3-4 hours of bullshit live.
This made me laugh thinking about ALL of the celebrities sitting in the audience thinking "Why am I here? I can catch clips of this shit on my couch."
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It's widely recognized that "being at the Oscars" is not the real win. "Being at the high-end after-party" is the real win.
(I mean, excluding by Diddy or Jeffrey Epstein.)
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> Get ready to be replaced by AI, celebs. They were already "managed" by the corporations. Now all the celebs will be owned by them too. Super not sad about it. I'm happy to see AI and robots coming for Hollywood..
If Hollywood was smart, they'd license their likeness to AI and have their managers handle the rest. They'd also love to have their prime-of-their-youth frozen or regurgitated perpetually. Saves a lot on plastic face costs. Standard riders (no nudity/sex/guns/rock/roll/whatever) would apply in AI too.
To your point I doubt they'll have that leverage. Even if they perhaps should.
> Harvard-grad consultants, and the lawyers instead of the plumbers and mechanics of the world. Now, that's not saying I'll consume whatever tripe they put out post-AI, either, but at least they can be 95% unemployed annoying liberals instead of famous and in-my-face annoying liberals. Bubbye now. Bubbye.
Fair enough, but there are a lot of plumbers and mechanics who service Hollywood too. Tough to tell how big the ripple effect
People still watch "The Oscars"? (Score:1, Interesting)
Another silly hollyWEIRDO show where dresses look like they are going to fall off and everyone has to get up and spout their leftist political nonsense so they can stay on the "in" crowd.
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YouTube is only as censored as Google wants it to be. So I'll watch if the dresses actually fall off.
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So, what makes you watch it... the falling-off dresses or the leftism?
I'll watch it (Score:4, Insightful)
... if they get Ricky Gervais to host it and to mock them relentlessly, unfiltered, uncensored. Give him a longer leash than he had at the Golden Globes.
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> ... if they get Ricky Gervais to host it and to mock them relentlessly, unfiltered, uncensored. Give him a longer leash than he had at the Golden Globes.
* Opening Night, 2029 YouTube Inagural Oscars *
* Ricky's phone rings *
"What? Now!? I mean, fuck yes I'll do a 1-hour live Netflix special when they start streaming. Do I need pants or what?"
News @ 11, It's 2025! (Score:2)
And many have already abandoned Broadcast TV and Online Streaming.
Pompous and self-important (Score:3)
Who needs the Oscars when you can view pompous and self-important people in the government and tech CEO get-togethers? They are already all over broadcast TV and YouTube.
Re: Fun fact, again (Score:3)
Literally all the people making money from the Oscars give a flying fuck about the Oscar's.
Re: (Score:2)
It appeals to: 405,000 workers of the US motion picture industry (source: [1]https://www.statista.com/stati... [statista.com] ) and their families, possibly more workers motion picture industry outside of the US as well; and the millions of shallow people who live through following the life of celebrities.
[1] https://www.statista.com/statistics/184412/employment-in-us-motion-picture-and-recording-industries-since-2001/
Great (Score:2)
Now I can not watch it there. Just like I haven't cared about the Oscars in over a decade.
Good. (Score:2)
Maybe it will air something interesting and worth watching instead.
But I doubt it.
Help make the Oscars more accessible (Score:2)
Less accessible, if being a YouTube TV subscriber is a prerequisite (US only). Gotta pump up those subscription numbers, I guess.
Will the Oscars continue to exist? (Score:2)
If everyone moves to streaming (and we're already seeing a huge decrease in movie theatres) maybe there won't be any theatrical movie released by 2029 anyway.
Should read... (Score:4, Insightful)
Show I don't watch will abandon Broadcast TV for streaming platform I don't use. I think it's safe to say that people over a certain age are never going to be watching the Oscars again because they won't know how to.
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pfft I don't even own a tv you uncultured rune
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In an unrelated years ago event , although no one was shot or shooting at other humans (went postal), I was asked to fill out a Nielsen survey this week.
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I did one once and didn't have anything other than an antenna and Netflix. This was very early in the days of online streaming. That made for an interesting response on my part as while I gave the time, the "Channel" part was almost always "Netflix". No idea how they handled it on their end, but that wasn't my problem.
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> Show I don't watch will abandon Broadcast TV for streaming platform I don't use. I think it's safe to say that people over a certain age are never going to be watching the Oscars again because they won't know how to.
More to the point, if one is interested in who/what won what award - for some reason - it's easier to simply wait until the next day and read an article about it online somewhere. Same goes for any performances that may be entertaining. Why waste X hours watching either linear or streaming, especially if it contains commercials/ads. Personally, while I can see a point for the actual awards - it's nice to be recognized by your peers for your efforts - I can't really see a point to a (live) show about the
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Most of them don't watch it now because they don't care. The Oscars haven't had any relation to the quality of the movie for decades.
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It's more about who's pants can you get into that will help you get the award.
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> "It's more about who's pants can you get into that will help you get the award."
And meeting the quotas for skin color, sex, able-ness, and sexual attraction of the cast, and "creative team".
[1]https://www.oscars.org/awards/... [oscars.org]
[1] https://www.oscars.org/awards/representation-and-inclusion-standards
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> I think it's safe to say that people over a certain age are never going to be watching the Oscars again because they won't know how to.
I'm not sure what age you think that is, but this semi-old guy won't be watching it because I don't want to. It's pointless and boring.
(And I'm not sure that I know of anyone, no matter how old, who "doesn't know how" to use YouTube.)
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At least now the show won't waste resources for a bunch of people who don't watch it. If people don't watch the stream than bandwidth and electric doesn't get used. Unlike when they waste 3ish hours of broadcast TV network time and tons of power for all the 100k to 200k watt broadcast TV blow torches across the country broadcasting this bullshit.
Re: Should read... (Score:2)
The first 10-15 minutes is pretty good it's normally standup, bits, and spoofs. The next 3 and a half plus hours is just so who cares for me.