YouTube, which is interested in expanding to live events, has inquired about becoming the next home of the Academy Awards, Bloomberg reported Sunday.
The telecast, which has aired on ABC since 1976, has a contract with the Disney owned-company through 2028. Before that, the show alternated between NBC and ABC since it was first televised in 1953.
NBC, which carried the Oscars for most of the 1950s and 1960s, is also a suitor, Bloomberg reported. But two people familiar with the inquiry told the outlet that YouTube is also actively interested.
The most-watched video platform in the world has been open about its interest in streaming high-profile live events, and the Academy Awards would certainly be a crown jewel in its stable, which now includes the NFL Sunday ticket and a small but growing roster of live sports.
Messages sent to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which is in the middle of negotiations for the telecast beyond 2028, were not immediately returned Sunday. Inquiries sent to Google and YouTube were also not immediately returned.
YouTube offers a huge audience on streaming, but it lacks the broadcast component of other companies – all of which also have their own streaming platforms. And at least three active bidders own major movie studios that send product to movie theaters – a huge priority for the Oscars and the films they showcase.
The 97th Academy Awards, which aired on March 25, drew an average of 19.6 million viewers across TV and streaming, according to Nielsen, a slight uptick from 2024, and the highest viewership in five years.
