In what would be a major change for the biggest awards show in the movie industry, the Google-owned video platform YouTube is looking to get involved with theOscars. The website has increased its live events in the era of streaming, but this would be an entirely different beast.
Historically aired on network television, the Oscars have been hosted by ABC for the past 48 years, and will be on ABC until 2028. However, according to two anonymous sources reporting toBloomberg,the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is “in the middle of negotiations” with several parties interested in the rights to air the Oscars, including YouTube,Netflix, and Amazon, among traditional networks.
Earlier this week, YouTube broke records hosting Travis and Jason Kelce’sNew Heightspodcast featuringTaylor Swift as she announced her new album. However,hosting the biggest show in Hollywood would take the 20-year-old video platform to entirely new heights,should it win the 2029 Oscars.
What Hosting The Oscars Would Mean For YouTube
It’s not just YouTube — live events are becoming more and more frequent across the age of streaming,a kind of merging of the elements of old-school broadcast television with the perks of the various streaming platforms. In addition to broadcasting live events, streamers such asDisney+ have live channels airing reruns of classic shows.
YouTube claiming the Oscars would make it a serious competitor in this era. The platform is an outlet for independent creators and does not make prestige content like Amazon or Netflix. But hosting the event where the best of that content is judged would establish YouTube as a pillar of the future of the entertainment landscape.
As network television faces more setbacks (including Paramount losing the Grammys) and streaming services continue to adapt,YouTube is still a distinct platform that must forge its own path.Big events, ranging from the Oscars to other things likeNew Heights, would mean that it is indispensable in its own way.
Our Take On YouTube Hosting The Oscars
However, this is only some of the earliest news on this development, and I could more realistically see Netflix or Disney+ winning the Oscars from 2029 onwards (assuming streaming hasn’t entirely collapsed by that point).Disney owns ABC and isn’t going to let the Oscars go quietly,while Netflix might be better equipped to handle such an event.
