The gala of the The Oscars face a historic changeThe Hollywood Concert Hall will abandon its classic home at the Dolby Theatre to move to the heart of downtown Los Angeles starting in 2029. The decision breaks with more than two decades of almost uninterrupted association with the iconic Walk of Fame venue and opens a new chapter for the company. the most publicized event in cinema.
This move is not a simple change of scenery, but the result of a long-term strategic agreement between the Academy and entertainment giant AEGThe operation seeks to modernize the event experience, take advantage of a state-of-the-art complex like LA LIVE, and adapt the ceremony to increasingly digital audiovisual consumption habits, with YouTube as the new major global showcase.
From the Dolby Theatre to the Peacock: a move with a lot of symbolic weight
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has confirmed that The move will take effect with the 101st edition of the Oscars, scheduled for 2029. From that date, the ceremony will leave the Dolby Theatre, on Hollywood Boulevard, to be held in the Peacock Theatre, located within the leisure and business complex LA LIVE, in the financial district of downtown Los Angeles.
The Dolby Theatre, opened in 2001 and home to the Oscars since 2002, was specifically designed to host the Academy Awards ceremony, making the change particularly striking. However, the organization believes that Downtown Los Angeles offers a broader and more versatile setting, surrounded by hotels, restaurants, event spaces and the nearby Crypto.com Arena, home of the Lakers and the Kings.
The new agreement, signed with the entertainment and sports company AEG, owner and operator of LA LIVEIt will last for ten years. During that period, the Peacock Theatre will become the official venue for the awards ceremony, adding to a list of historic venues that includes the Roosevelt Hotel, the Biltmore, the Shrine Auditorium or the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion.
For the city of Los Angeles itself, the move means to reinforce the leading role of downtown as the nerve center for major eventsThe area already hosts major sporting events, top-level concerts and other galas, but now it will add the most watched film ceremony in the world, with all that this entails in terms of tourism, visibility and business.
A multi-awards venue and a grand red carpet
El Peacock Theatre is no stranger to the audiovisual industry.In recent years it has been the scene of the Emmy awards, considered the most important awards in international television, as well as Rock & Roll Hall of Fame ceremonies and a multitude of live shows.
Within the LA LIVE complex, the theater is integrated into a recently expanded environment to reach the Sqm 370.000with spaces designed for high-impact media events. The Academy has emphasized that the new location will allow to organize the ceremony, arrivals, and red carpet activities more easily, one of the most watched moments by the public worldwide.
The agreement with AEG includes the adaptation and improvement of infrastructure, sound, lighting and technical areas The Peacock Theatre has been redesigned to meet the demands of a production as complex as the Oscars. The aim is to ensure that the broadcast maintains the level of spectacle to which the international audience is accustomed, while taking advantage of a more versatile venue and a more modern urban setting.
For AEG, the agreement reinforces LA LIVE's position as an epicenter for major cultural events. Todd Goldstein, the company's chief revenue officer, noted that The complex was designed to host “moments that define culture” He emphasized that "there is no bigger global stage than the Oscars," making clear the symbolic weight of adding this event to the venue's calendar.
A shift towards YouTube and new global audiences
The move to downtown Los Angeles coincides with a profound change in the way the gala is distributedStarting with the 2029 edition, the Oscars ceremony will be the first in to be broadcast globally via YouTube, which marks a turning point in the dissemination of these awards.
Until now, international broadcasting has been linked to the network SPC, which will continue to broadcast the gala live and distribute it to more than 200 territories worldwide at least until the edition number 100That will mark the end of a classic television era, before YouTube assumes a central role as the main global broadcasting platform.
The bet on YouTube responds to a context of changes in audiovisual consumptionIn this era, audiences are fragmented and linear television is losing ground to digital platforms. According to the Academy, broadcasting on a dominant video service makes it easier to reach... younger and more connected audiences, accustomed to following streaming events from their mobile phones, tablets or computers.
In Europe and Spain, this shift can be translated into a more direct and homogeneous access to the galaProvided territorial agreements allow it. Many viewers who until now relied on pay channels or late-night broadcasts might find it easier to follow the key moments of the ceremony, either live or on demand, through the video platform itself.
Calendar of change: from the centenary to the new era
The roadmap defined by the Academy seeks respect the symbolic significance of the Oscars' centenary and, at the same time, prepare the transition well in advance. edition number 99 The awards ceremony, which will be held next year, will continue to take place in the Dolby Theater from Hollywood and will be broadcast live on ABC, maintaining the traditional format.
La 100 editionThe ceremony, scheduled for 2028, will also be held at the Dolby Theatre and will be the last gala to have the Hollywood Walk of Fame as its backdrop. That ceremony will close a cycle of more than two decades of almost uninterrupted events at the same venue and will serve as grand commemoration of the century of history of the awards, since that first delivery in 1929 at the Roosevelt Hotel.
From 2029, the The 101st edition will officially inaugurate the Peacock Theatre and LA LIVE era as the new home of the Oscars. This will also be the ceremony that combines the premiere of the venue and a new digital distribution model with YouTube as the central component.
The ten-year agreement signed with AEG guarantees that, throughout the next decade, The ceremony will remain anchored in downtown Los AngelesThe stability of the contract allows the organization to plan improvements, redesign the staging and explore new broadcasting formats, something especially relevant in a context of increasing competition for the public's attention.
A movement with an impact on the European industry and public
The change of venue and broadcasting model not only implies logistical adjustments for Hollywood, but also It will have direct effects on how the gala is experienced in Europe.For viewers in Spain, accustomed to watching the Oscars in the early hours of the morning through specialized channels or paid platforms, the reinforced presence on YouTube can facilitate access to specific segments of the event, speeches or musical performances.
Furthermore, focusing on a more modern and digital experience can open the door to content specifically for international audiencesFrom summaries adapted to different time zones to additional feeds with a greater presence of European nominees. With the growing visibility of filmmakers, actors, and productions from Spain And from the rest of the continent during awards season, it's not surprising that the Academy seeks to nurture that fan base.
For the European industry itself, a more accessible event with greater presence on open platforms It can strengthen the Oscars' role as a showcase for co-productions and films that would otherwise have a more limited theatrical run. The added visibility on a global platform helps solidify careers, boost international sales, and fuel interest in auteur cinema or independent films that manage to secure nominations.
All of this is part of a broader strategy by the Academy to to refresh the image of the awards and connect with new generationswithout losing its status as a benchmark for the global film industry. The move to downtown Los Angeles and the decisive leap into the digital realm are, in that sense, two sides of the same coin.
With an eye on the centenary and the decade that follows, the Oscars face a profound transformation: They will leave the iconic Dolby Theatre to settle in the dynamic LA LIVEThey will reinforce their character as a major urban event in the financial heart of the city and will rely on YouTube to maintain their influence in a constantly changing audiovisual ecosystem, in which the European and Spanish audience will continue to closely follow every move.
