The Academy Awards are moving away from the traditional broadcast model and will be streamed on YouTube in 2029. That’s three years from now and almost a decade since YouTube started dominating video content.
Should we all celebrate this ‘bold move’ into digital? Well, not really.
By 2029, the market will have shifted again. AI will have reshaped how people consume content, and audience behaviour will look different to how it does today. Three years is a lifetime in entertainment. And the Oscars will still be trying to catch up.
Same old broadcast, different platform
Moving to YouTube isn’t the same as modernising the experience. Especially if The Oscars is planning to bring their same passive, three-hour presentation format onto a platform built for audience participation.
YouTube will keep innovating as usual, but will the people running the Oscars actually take advantage of those innovations? Will they embrace things like live chat, real-time polls, and other interactive features that give people a reason to stay? Probably not.
They’ll worry about political speech in the chat. They’ll disable comments to avoid controversy. They’ll protect the integrity of a century-old format instead of asking whether that format still works. Ambitious younger producers might push for change, but it’s likely that the old guard will water it down giving us a slightly shinier version of the same tired ceremony.
The shift to digital should spark a total rethink of what an awards show can be. Without that, it’s just the same show, different URL.
The real audience participation happens everywhere else
People don’t just sit and watch the Oscars anymore. They experience them across a dozen platforms simultaneously across a longer time period.
In the weeks before the ceremony, they’re on PolyMarket placing bets on winners. During the show, they’re on TikTok watching thousands of live reaction streams. And each of those has their own community, their own take, their own running commentary. After the ceremony, they’re creating memes, conspiracy theories, and hot takes that dominate social feeds for days.
The broadcast itself almost becomes background noise. A catalyst for conversations that happen elsewhere. The real audience participation takes place on platforms the Academy doesn’t control, in micro-communities the broadcast can’t reach.
Brands pay millions for ad slots during the ceremony, but they’re trying to reach viewers who are glued to their phones instead. Everyone’s gossiping, speculating, arguing and building interactive content in real time that makes the official broadcast feel secondary.
And once the ceremony ends, the attention starts to die, and everyone’s moved on. The film industry goes back to fighting for relevance in a market where two hours in a cinema must compete with 30 seconds on TikTok.
Creators could flip this tomorrow
Creators are disrupting this space right now. They don’t need broadcast rights to build compelling audience participation around major entertainment moments.
IMDB has an API that makes movie data, talent information, and user voting accessible. Any creator wanting to build something for entertainment fans has access to all this in one click.
Imagine side-by-side awards shows where audiences actually participate in decisions. Where people feel part of the action instead of passive observers. Where the conversation matters as much as the ceremony itself.
When audiences have skin in the game, they care more. They stay longer. They contribute. They give their full attention. And that audience participation creates real commercial value.
Creators could build watch-alongs with thousands of followers, turning a passive moment into an active occasion. They could host real-time debates, run predictive competitions, create content that makes people feel seen and heard.
The opportunity exists. The tools are available. The audience is ready.
Why wait three years?
The Oscars is an institution. They’re part of a Hollywood tradition. But they’re in danger of becoming less relevant to digital culture.
By 2029, when YouTube finally hosts the ceremony, creators will have already built ecosystems around these moments. The official broadcast will feel as innovative as a new combustion engine in a market powered by electric motors.
The question isn’t whether the Oscars should come to YouTube. It’s whether they’ll actually use that platform to reimagine what an awards show can be. Or will they just be transplanting old thinking onto new technology.
Three years is plenty of time to figure that out. Let’s see if they do.
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