Khaberni - In a big surprise, it has been decided to move the 2029 Oscars ceremony to YouTube exclusively, and to stop broadcasting it on the "ABC" network, marking the first major shift since 1976.
According to what the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced today, Wednesday, the "ABC" channel will continue to broadcast the annual ceremony until 2028, and the centennial edition of the Oscars will be celebrated that year.
However, starting in 2029, YouTube will retain global broadcasting rights to the Oscars until 2033.
In turn, the CEO of the Academy, Bill Kramer, and the president of the Academy, Lynette Howell Taylor, expressed their happiness to enter into a multi-faceted global partnership with YouTube, to be the future platform for the Oscars ceremony and the Academy's year-round programs.
They added, according to a statement reported by "Associated Press": "The Academy is an international organization, and this partnership will allow us to extend the reach of the Academy's work to the largest possible global audience, which will benefit the members of the Academy and the film community."
While adding major award ceremonies have partnerships with live streaming platforms, the YouTube deal is the first among the four major awards - the Oscars, Grammys, Emmys, and Tonys - to completely abandon traditional television broadcasting.
This move places one of the most-watched programs (other than American football games) in the hands of Google.
It is worth mentioning that YouTube has about two billion viewers.
