Sky dealt major blow as it loses rights to legendary awards ceremony after 20 years

SKY has lost the rights to the UK coverage of the famous awards ceremony after two decades.

Following a 20-year run hosting coverage of the Los Angeles bash, Comcast-owned pay-TV behemoth has given up the rights to air the iconic film awards programme in the UK.

UK fans will no longer be able to watch coverage of the Oscars on the British channel anymore.

The reason for Sky’s withdrawal from the Oscars is unknown.

But it could be related to a number of factors, one of which being that all media networks are suffering as a result of the macroeconomic slump.

Broadcasters are currently experiencing a slowdown and are searching for ways to bring down their costs.

However, as reported on Deadline, it’s believed that the rightsholder Disney is close to striking a deal with a new UK buyer.

So there may yet be hope for British Oscars fans.

Sky acquired the rights from the BBC over 20 years ago.

UK audiences for the Oscars have been falling in recent years, matching US numbers, with roughly 35,000 turning in live on the main Sky Cinema channel this year, compared to nearly 60,000 in 2022.

The network fought the BBC for the coverage rights for about 5 years until obtaining them in 2004.

The Oscars was most recently broadcast on four channels: a dedicated Sky Cinema Oscars channel, Sky Showcase, Sky Arts, and Sky News, as well as the streaming service Now TV.

Coverage typically lasted from 11 p.m. GMT, when the red carpet arrives, through 5 a.m. GMT.

Last year’s ceremony went viral for all the wrong reasons, after Will Smith “slapped” comedian Chris Rock for insulting his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.