Late-night host Conan O'Brien will host the 97th annual awards show for the first time
The Oscars is finally giving streaming fans what they want. The Academy Awards will be live on Hulu and ABC simultaneously, marking the first time the ceremony will be available on the streaming platform at the same time, ABC and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced Wednesday.
In recent years, more viewers have tuned in to the live broadcast. Following the year of Barbenheimer21.5 million viewers tuned in to the awards show, the highest viewership since 2020. Despite fans watching the Oscars broadcast at record numbers, audiences have been dwindled since 2014, when more than 40 million viewers watched as 12 Years a Slave took the Best Picture prize.
Late-night host Conan O'Brien will host the 97th annual awards show for the first time next year, the Academy announced last month. Jimmy Kimmel previously held the hosting gig, leading the awards show night in 2017, 2018, 2023, and 2024. The comedian stepped down ahead of the 2025 Oscars because it was “just too much last year,” he told the Politickin' podcast, adding, “You wind up pushing everything off till after the Oscars,” which proved insufficient for him.
The Oscars dual viewing news follows the announcement of the Golden Globe nominations earlier this week. Netflix movie features Emilia Pérez picked up 10 nominations including Best Picture in the Musical or Comedy category, and historical drama The Brutalist picking up seven nominations, including Best Drama. Other blockbuster projects nominated at the Globes, like Wicked, Dune: Part Twoand Conclave have already picked up Oscars buzz.
For those who miss both live showings, the awards show will be available the next day on Hulu. The Oscars airs March 2.
