The Academy Awards to Depart ABC and Broadcast Live on the Video Platform Beginning in the Year 2029.
The Oscars ceremony will commence airing only on YouTube in the year 2029, signaling the newest significant transformation in the film industry.
The organization behind the Oscars declared the decision on Wednesday, stating that it finalized a extended contract granting YouTube the sole worldwide broadcasting rights to the Oscars up to 2033.
The awards show, set for 15 March, has been televised for a half a century on the traditional network. Beginning in 2029, the event will be available as a free live stream on YouTube.
This is another substantial restructuring in Hollywood, which is dealing with company buyouts and fusions, coupled with steep slashes to movie budgets.
"Our Academy represents an worldwide body, and this collaboration will permit us to increase availability to the mission of the Academy to the largest worldwide audience possible - which will be advantageous for our membership and the movie industry," remarked the Academy's executives in a announcement.
For many years, audience numbers of the televised event have dropped, even if there was a small rise in recent years, with a considerable amount of youthful audiences streaming from mobile devices and computers.
In a corresponding announcement, YouTube's CEO called the Oscars "one of our essential cultural touchstones" and noted that partnering with the Academy would "inspire a new generation of creativity and cinema enthusiasts while adhering to the Oscars' illustrious history".
ABC, which has televised the awards since the mid-1970s, said that it was excited "to hosting the event three more times" it will retain rights for.
The move comes as large entertainment companies face challenging merger discussions. These potential deals were viewed as concerning for an industry that has seen drastic cuts over the recent period.
In common with major studios, traditional TV channels have struggled as the audience has increasingly opted for streaming services as an alternative.
YouTube winning the license to the Oscars further suggests that the dominance of online services will carry on expanding.