In a significant shift for the entertainment industry, the 2025 Academy Awards will be live-streamed on Disney's Hulu alongside its traditional broadcast home on ABC. This move symbolizes the final chapter in the story of linear television as we know it. For years, major events like sports games and award shows have been tied to pay-TV bundles, but now they are migrating to streaming platforms. By next year, all top broadcasts will be available through standalone streaming services, signaling a complete transformation of how viewers access content. The transition has been gradual, with entertainment programming leading the charge, followed by sports and news. As Hollywood invests billions into streaming, traditional cable channels have become shadows of their former selves. Executives acknowledge this shift, emphasizing the need to adapt while trying to salvage what remains of the pay-TV model.
March 2: A Turning Point for Television
In the heart of early spring, March 2, 2025, marks a pivotal moment in the history of television. On this day, one of the last bastions of traditional TV—the Academy Awards—will embrace the streaming revolution. For the first time ever, the Oscars will be streamed live outside the pay-TV ecosystem, available on Disney’s Hulu. This development underscores a broader trend: the dismantling of the pay-TV bundle. In 2024, 14 out of the top 50 TV broadcasts were exclusive to pay-TV services, primarily football games on Fox and ESPN. However, by 2025, every event on Nielsen’s most-watched list will be accessible via standalone streaming platforms. The migration began years ago with entertainment content, led by Netflix, and has since extended to sports and news. Major networks like Disney, NBCUniversal, Warner Bros. Discovery, and Paramount have pivoted heavily toward streaming, reducing investments in linear TV. Executives recognize that streaming is the future, yet some still aim to preserve elements of the pay-TV bundle.
Disney CEO Bob Iger highlighted this duality, stating that linear networks remain valuable assets while acknowledging the shift towards streaming. Similarly, Fox CEO Lachlan Murdoch emphasized support for traditional bundles while targeting cord-cutters and cord-nevers with new streaming offerings. The demise of the Venu sports bundle further accelerated this change, prompting providers like DirecTV and Comcast to offer skinnier packages focused on sports and news. Despite these efforts, the writing is on the wall: pay-TV exclusivity is fading fast. Events like the MTV Video Music Awards and WWE Smackdown may soon follow the Oscars’ lead, joining the streaming wave. Executives at “SpinCo,” Comcast’s soon-to-be-independent cable channels, are already planning their exit strategies. The media landscape has undergone a seismic shift, moving from a world where every household paid for a channel bundle to one where content seeks new platforms to thrive.
From a journalistic perspective, this transition highlights the relentless march of technology and consumer preferences. It’s a reminder that industries must evolve or risk obsolescence. The Oscars’ move to streaming not only reflects changing viewer habits but also ensures the event remains culturally relevant. As more content breaks free from traditional bundles, the challenge for remaining linear networks will be finding innovative ways to stay competitive. This era marks the end of an old order and the beginning of a new one, driven by flexibility and accessibility.