The Oscars to Depart ABC and Stream on the Video Platform Starting in the Year 2029.

The Academy Awards will commence streaming exclusively on the global video platform in 2029, representing the newest major shift in the film industry.

The organization behind the Oscars made the announcement on Wednesday, confirming that it entered into a multi-year deal giving YouTube the unique international license to the Oscars up to 2033.

The Oscars, scheduled for March 15th, has been televised for a half a century on ABC. Commencing in 2029, the ceremony will be viewable as a free live stream on YouTube.

It's a further major shakeup in Hollywood, which is dealing with studio sales and mergers, along with severe reductions in filming.

"Our Academy represents an global institution, and this collaboration will permit us to increase availability to the mission of the Academy to the largest worldwide audience imaginable - which will be positive for our membership and the movie industry," stated the Academy's executives in a announcement.

For many years, viewership of the ceremony have dropped, though there was a minor increase in recent years, with a notable portion of youthful audiences watching from smartphones and computers.

In a related comment, the video platform's chief executive described the Oscars "among our essential cultural institutions" and added that teaming up with the Academy would "motivate a fresh wave of artistic expression and cinema enthusiasts while adhering to the Oscars' celebrated history".

ABC, which has streamed the ceremony since 1976, stated that it was eagerly anticipating "to hosting the event three more times" it will still host.

The move comes as major studios deal with challenging merger discussions. Such proposals were seen as concerning for an business that has experienced significant downsizing over the last few years.

Similar to big production houses, cable networks have struggled as the viewers has chosen on-demand video instead.

YouTube obtaining broadcasting rights to the Oscars further suggests that dependence on digital platforms will carry on to grow.