Wrap Video: We Debate What Oscars on YouTube Might Mean for Co-Streaming and Younger Audience

Hollywood was rocked this week with the news that the Academy Awards will move to YouTube starting in 2029 after 50 years on broadcast television, but TheWrap’s Steve Pond and Jeremy Fuster believe that this move could actually be a positive change for the awards show after years of declining ratings.

“If this is done right, maybe it could mean something good for the Oscars,” TheWrap’s box office and labor reporter Fuster said during a conversation with Pond about the shakeup.

Though he argued the move to a digital-first platform is “a sign of the continued demise of over-the-top TV,” Fuster argued that the awards show shakeup may be what the 100-year-old Academy Awards need to engage younger and more diverse audiences.

Oscars viewership has dipped significantly in the past decade alone. In 2015, the awards show saw 37.3 million viewers. This year, it drew just 19.7 million viewers for the 2025 show. Through the declining ratings, ABC has urged the Academy to make changes that might increase viewership, like making the show shorter, trimming categories and the reversed decision to add a “Best Popular Film” Oscar.

“The Academy has been fighting with ABC for decades, really, as ABC has pushed to speed up the show,” Pond said. “‘Let’s move some categories off the main show. Let’s have more big movies.’ Almost all the stuff that they’ve done to appease ABC’s pressure has made them look bad.”

“My question is YouTube is spending a lot of money on the Oscars — not as much as ABC was spending, but a lot. What do they want for their money?” Pond asked. “Do they want the Oscar show as it currently exists, that they then can put stuff around? Or do they want the Oscars to change, which is when you really run into problems, and the Oscars risk looking sillier and more irrelevant.”

Fuster’s suggestion as the Oscars head to YouTube is to leverage the digital talent already on the platform. Several programs ,including the Game Awards, the 2024 Olympics and even the NFL, have allowed streamers to co-broadcast and live commentate on their programming to reach larger audiences.

“There are two ways YouTube could do this. They could make it exclusive to YouTubeTV to try and gin up subscribers. I think that’s a bad choice,” Fuster said. “Or you can put it out there and make partnerships with all sorts of streamers, and do official co-streams of the Oscars and bring in people who wouldn’t otherwise watch it.”

The Game Awards set a new viewership record with an estimated 171 million global livestreams at this year’s show across multiple digital networks, including YouTube, Twitch, Steam, TikTok Live, X, Kick, Facebook and Instagram Live. Those numbers include only streams of the full broadcast, not counting associated clips or trailers.

Much of this viewership came from popular streamers encouraging fans to watch, or broadcasting alongside the awards stream in order to increase engagement. With the Oscars’ move to YouTube in 2029, this strategy could bring in newer viewers that would not typically sit for the Academy Awards.

“I think YouTube allows the Academy to build up a new generation of people to watch these things that ABC didn’t offer them,” Fuster said

“One of the most interesting things is that we have no idea what the Oscars are going to look like in 2029,” Pond said. “This is an opportunity to reset and say, ‘Alright, what do we want the second 100 years of the Oscars to look like?'”

The executive editor of awards added that three years out from the awards show’s move, the playing field is “wide open” for YouTube to either start from scratch or stay true to the Academy Awards that have been in place for nearly 100 years.

“For YouTube, I think the best way to do this is just don’t go for the big changes yet with the actual show. Just make the big change be the platform,” Fuster said. “See what happens if you make these partnerships with big name streamers and see if that drums up interest.”

The Oscars will remain at ABC through its 100th Annual Academy Awards in 2028. YouTube will then host the awards in 2029 with the 101st Oscars ceremony and running through 2033.

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