After a 20-year pact, the Oscars will no longer broadcast on Sky in the U.K., PvNew has /confirm/ied.
Sky, the U.K.’s largest pay-TV broadcaster, has given up the rights to Hollywood’s biggest awards ceremony. The Comcast-owned company got the rights to the broadcast back from the BBC in 2004. Previously, the two companies had taken turns hosting the awards ceremony for several years. But the last deal between Sky and the Oscars — which is broadcast by the Disney-owned ABC in the U.S. — had continued to hold strong, until now.
Though a specific reason has not been given for Sky foregoing the rights to next year’s ceremony, many media companies are feeling the current economic strain and have thus been forced to undergo cost-cutting measures. Live ratings for the Oscars have also continued to dwindle in recent years, in the U.S. as well as the U.K., paired with broadcast TV’s steady viewership decline in the era of streaming services.
Sky declined PvNew‘s request for comment.
Sky had consistently shown the Oscars on its dedicated channel for the event, Sky Cinema Oscars, as well as Sky Showcase and its streaming service Now TV. Earlier this year, the Oscars landed on Sky’s free-to-air offerings for the first time, broadcasting on Sky Arts and Sky News in a move that made the ceremony more accessible to U.K. movie fans.
The race to find the next U.K. buyer for the ceremony will be an interesting litmus test for how valuable British broadcasters consider American awards ceremonies at this moment in time. The Oscars are one of the few U.S. entertainment awards that actually air live in the U.K. Sky has always felt like a natural fit given the broadcaster’s focus on acquired content via its HBO output deal. Other U.K. broadcasters that trade in American shows include Channel 5, which operates its 5USA channel, and Channel 4, which buys American shows for the main channel as well as E4. ITV has also recently made some strong U.S. acquisitions, such as “The Sex Lives of College Girls,” and could also be a contender. However, sources tell PvNew that Channel 5 and Paramount+ are not in the running for the deal.
Last year’s Oscars, hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, saw “Everything Everywhere All at Once” dominate with seven wins. The film took home best picture, as well as Oscars for stars Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan and Jamie Lee Curtis. Its directing duo, the Daniels, also won for directing the film.
Deadline Hollywood was first to report the news.
