But the new deal with Google-owned YouTube represents a bold new direction for the show at a time when audiences increasingly watch all types of content online.
Streamers owned by Silicon Valley firms have lured top talent away from traditional Hollywood studios with massive contracts – despite film-makers’ concerns that they rarely show movies on the big screen in theatres for extended runs.
Streamers have also gradually gained wider acceptance at the Academy Awards, where Apple won best picture for CODA in 2022.
The SAG Awards, another important Hollywood awards gala, which recently rebranded as The Actors Awards, has already moved to Netflix.
YouTube accounts for the biggest share of television viewing time in the United States of any streaming platform, dwarfing even Netflix.
“This collaboration will leverage YouTube’s vast reach and infuse the Oscars and other Academy programming with innovative opportunities for engagement while honouring our legacy,” said the Academy.
Financial terms of the new Oscars deal were not disclosed.
Industry website Deadline said “the amount that YouTube was willing to pay didn’t make sense for Disney”, citing anonymous insiders.
‘Proud home’
An ABC Entertainment spokesperson told AFP: “ABC has been the proud home to the Oscars for more than half a century.
“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.”
Like Hollywood more broadly, the Oscars have endured a challenging time in recent years, as younger generations’ viewing habits shift.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, Oscars ratings sank as low as 10.4 million.
The most recent Oscars were viewed by 19.69 million people – the highest in five years – as the ceremony was shown live simultaneously on Disney’s streamer Hulu with ABC.
But the Hulu stream suffered technical glitches that left some viewers unable to see the final prizes.
The Academy Awards telecast regularly topped 40 million just over a decade ago.
– Agence France-Presse