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The Academy Awards will begin airing only on YouTube in 2029, representing the newest substantial change in Hollywood.

The organization behind the Oscars made the announcement on this week, confirming that it entered into a multi-year deal awarding YouTube the unique international license to the Oscars until 2033.

The Oscars, which is planned for 15 March, has aired for 50 years on the traditional network. Starting in 2029, the show will be accessible as a free live stream on YouTube.

This is one more significant restructuring in the entertainment world, which is navigating corporate acquisitions and consolidations, coupled with steep reductions in filming.

"Our Academy represents an worldwide body, and this partnership will allow us to broaden reach to the mission of the Academy to the biggest global viewership attainable - which will be beneficial for our Academy members and the film community," said the Academy's executives in a announcement.

For many years, audience numbers of the televised event have declined, even if there was a minor increase in recent years, with a considerable amount of Gen Z and millennial watchers tuning in from mobile devices and computers.

In a separate statement, the video platform's chief executive called the Oscars "one of our fundamental cultural touchstones" and added that teaming up with the Academy would "spark a younger cohort of artistic expression and movie fans while staying true to the Oscars' storied heritage".

ABC, which has televised the ceremony since the mid-1970s, said that it was excited "to the next three telecasts" it will still host.

The move comes as large entertainment companies confront challenging merger discussions. Such proposals were seen as problematic for an industry that has witnessed drastic cuts over the recent period.

In common with major studios, traditional TV channels have struggled as the public has increasingly opted for streaming services instead.

The platform securing the license to the Academy Awards further suggests that the dominance of online services will carry on increasing.