Youtube, who is interested in expanding to live events, has asked to be the next home for the Academy Awards, Bloomberg reported Sunday.
Telecasten, which has been broadcast on ABC since 1976, has a contract with the Disney-owned company until 2028. Before that, the show switched between NBC and ABC since it was first broadcast in 1953.
NBC, which carried Oscars for most of the 1950s and 1960s, is also a freer, Bloomberg reported. But two people who are familiar with the investigation told the outlet that Youtube is also actively interested.
The most guarded video platform in the world has been open to its interest in streaming high-profile live events, and the Academy Awards would certainly be a crown jewel in their stable, which now includes the NFL Sunday ticket and a small but growing list of live sports.
Messages sent to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which are in the middle of the TeleCast negotiations after 2028, were not returned immediately on Sunday. Requests sent to Google and Youtube were not returned immediately.
Youtube offers a huge audience at streaming, but it lacks the broadcast component in other companies – all of which also have their own streaming platforms. And at least three active bidders own large film studios that send product to cinemas – a huge priority for the Oscars and the films they show.
The 97th Academy Awards, which was broadcast on March 25, drew an average of 19.6 million viewers over TV and streaming, according to Nielsen, a small top from 2024 and the highest viewer in five years.
