Are we witnessing the death of traditional TV?
The Take
Al Jazeera
4.7 • 748 Ratings
🗓️ 22 January 2026
⏱️ 22 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
The Oscars are planning a move to YouTube, ending a decades-long run on broadcast television in 2029. Audiences are continuing to change how they watch even the biggest cultural events. But reports of ‘the death of live TV’ have been premature before – so how will it survive?
In this episode:
- Angela Palumbo (@angelapalumbo98), Technology Reporter, Barron’s
Episode credits:
This episode was produced by Sarí el-Khalili and Fatima Shafiq, with Farhan Rafid, Tamara Khandaker, Tracie Hunte, and our guest host, Kevin Hirten. It was edited by Noor Wazwaz.
Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Joe Plourde mixed this episode. Our video editors are Hisham Abu Salah and Mohannad al-Melhem. Alexandra Locke is The Take’s executive producer. Ney Alvarez is Al Jazeera’s head of audio.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Al Jazeera Podcasts. |
| 0:07.0 | Today, one of TV's biggest nights is breaking away from its old home. |
| 0:15.0 | We're talking about the Oscars, which starting in just a few years will no longer be on network television. |
| 0:24.0 | The show is headed to YouTube, starting in 2029. |
| 0:30.7 | As live television keeps losing viewers, why are digital platforms now fighting for our biggest shared moments? |
| 0:34.1 | I'm Kevin Horton, and this is The Take. |
| 0:53.4 | Before we continue with today's show, remember to leave us a comment telling us what you think about this episode and what stories you want us to do next. |
| 0:54.8 | Or if you're on your favorite podcast app, leave us a review telling us where you're listening from. And you might as well |
| 0:59.9 | give us a five-star rating. It really does help the show. My name is Angela Palumbo. I am a tech |
| 1:10.6 | reporter for Barron's and I am on Long Island, New York. |
| 1:15.1 | Angela, welcome to the take. So the Oscars is one of those events, increasingly rare these days, actually, where people sit down and they watch TV together. |
| 1:26.3 | And, you know, it's been like that for years. I mean, since it was first broadcast on NBC back in 1953, then in the 70s, ABC got the rights to the Oscars, and it only grew in popularity. I mean, millions of people tune in every year. I'm curious. Was it something that you grew up watching yourself? Yeah, absolutely. |
| 1:44.9 | It's, I think, just like a lot of families, a lot of American families. |
| 1:48.4 | It's something I sat down, watched with specifically my sister. |
| 1:52.1 | We loved watching award shows together, not only the actual show itself, but also all the |
| 1:57.3 | red carpet. |
| 1:58.0 | We loved looking at all the pretty dresses and everything. |
| 2:01.6 | And even now, |
| 2:07.7 | I still watch it every year and I keep up with it on social media, see who's arriving, what they're wearing. So it's definitely something that I think people across the country watch pretty consistently |
| 2:13.7 | every year. It's something they look forward to. They keep an eye on the nominations |
| 2:17.5 | and what movies they think are going to be nominated. And I definitely was one of those people |
| 2:22.6 | myself and my family. So for my entire lifetime, ABC was the home of the Oscars. But I guess |
... |
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