Sept. 15, 2023

ITV Acquires Oscars Broadcast Rights for UK

As Sky concludes its 20-year contract with the Oscars, ITV has stepped in, picking up the broadcasting rights for the acclaimed prizegiving ceremony. By: Theng Min Yee

ITV has announced that it made a “multi-year” deal with Disney Entertainment, getting the rights to screen the annual awards. The coverage will commence with the 2024 edition of the ceremony, where ITV has plans to give a live screening on ITV1 and the ITVX streaming service, on 10 March 2024.

The move to drop Oscars coverage became more telling in August, as news of Disney striking deals with another outlet was revealed. The switch in broadcast stations also stemmed from declining TV ratings, which saw Sky’s live coverage averaging 95,000 viewers for the 2023 ceremony, and 141,000 for the screening on the following evening. The low numbers are signs of the trouble that the Oscars telecast has met with in the US.

A contributing factor to ITV’s acquisition of broadcasting rights to the Oscars could be attributed to its desire to exhibit ITVX streaming service, which underwent a rebranding from ITVX Hub in 2022. The revamp sees 250 feature films added to the platform.

Darren Nartey, senior acquisitions manager for ITV and ITVX, commented: “We are thrilled to be able to exclusively bring the Oscars to film fans all across the UK, furthering and complementing our commitment to films across our network.”

The acquisition appears as a strategic move that could serve to elevate ITV’s platform to new heights, drawing in a stream of new viewers that will stream the Oscars, as well as other content across the platform.

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