Beginning with the 101st Academy Awards in 2029, the Oscars will relocate to the Peacock Theater at L.A. Live under a new multiyear partnership between the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and AEG. The move coincides with the Academy’s shift of broadcast rights for that ceremony to YouTube, while the Dolby Theatre will continue to host the show through the 100th Oscars in 2028. AEG has pledged capital and technical upgrades to stage, sound, lighting and backstage facilities to meet the production needs of cinema’s premier awards. L.A. Live’s expanded plaza will serve as the red carpet and arrival hub for talent and media.
Key Takeaways
- The Academy and AEG announced a multiyear deal naming L.A. Live’s Peacock Theater the Oscars’ home from the 101st ceremony in 2029 through 2039.
- The 101st Oscars in 2029 will be the first ceremony carried exclusively on YouTube under a global rights agreement that begins that year.
- AEG plans upgrades to stage, lighting, sound, lobbies and backstage production areas at the Peacock Theater to support the event’s technical demands.
- The downtown L.A. move returns the ceremony to a central Los Angeles district; the Oscars were held at Dorothy Chandler Pavilion from 1969 until relocating to Hollywood’s Kodak/Dolby Theatre in 2002.
- The Dolby Theatre will continue to host the Oscars through the 100th show in 2028, which will still air on ABC and in more than 200 territories worldwide.
- L.A. Live is a 23-acre entertainment district adjacent to Crypto.com Arena and includes hotels, restaurants and hospitality spaces that can support large-scale event logistics.
Background
For much of the late 20th century the Academy staged its ceremony in downtown Los Angeles at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion beginning in 1969. In 2002 the show moved back to Hollywood to the then-Kodak Theatre (now Dolby Theatre), where it has been televised as a tentpole live event for decades. L.A. Live opened in the 2000s as a concentrated sports and entertainment campus adjacent to Crypto.com Arena, offering theaters, hotels and plazas designed for red carpets and fan activations.
AEG, which owns and operates L.A. Live, has overseen thousands of concerts, sports and awards productions across its venues since the complex’s development. The Academy and AEG framed the agreement as a long-term collaboration to adapt the Oscars for contemporary production and distribution methods. Through 2028 the ceremony will remain at Dolby and continue to air on ABC and in more than 200 international markets before the 2029 shift.
Main Event
On Thursday the Academy and AEG announced that beginning with the 101st Academy Awards in 2029 the ceremony and broadcast will originate from the Peacock Theater at L.A. Live. The partnership is set to run through 2039 and includes targeted investments by AEG in technical and guest-facing infrastructure. The Academy emphasized a collaborative design process so that the theater’s stage, sightlines and backstage workflows accommodate Oscars-specific staging and camera requirements.
The choice of Peacock Theater echoes recent years when the Emmys and other televised events used the same venue, signaling confidence in its ability to host major awards shows. L.A. Live’s expanded outdoor plaza will host arrivals, fan zones and red-carpet media operations, concentrating more on-site activity than a single Hollywood theater block might allow. AEG’s plan highlights upgrades to lighting, audio, lobbies and green-room areas to meet the scale and global broadcast standards of the Oscars.
The broadcast change is tightly linked to a separate deal granting YouTube exclusive global rights to stream the 101st ceremony beginning in 2029. That shift represents a definitive move by the Academy to experiment with digital-first global distribution while the 100th ceremony in 2028 remains on ABC and in more than 200 territories. The Academy framed these changes as efforts to broaden access and reimagine the presentation of the awards for new audiences and platforms.
Analysis & Implications
The relocation to downtown L.A. could reshape the Oscars’ footprint in the city: by centering arrivals, hospitality and sponsor activations within L.A. Live, the event may generate a more compact festival atmosphere than the traditional Hollywood evening. Economically, the district’s hotels, restaurants and event infrastructure stand to capture increased revenue from a multi-year run of ceremonies and associated events. For AEG, hosting the Academy Awards enhances its profile as a production partner for culturally significant live shows and drives longer-term utilization of the Peacock Theater.
From a distribution standpoint, the YouTube rights deal for 2029 opens new questions about advertising models, sponsorship integration and audience measurement compared with network television. YouTube’s global platform could expand reach, especially among younger or international viewers, but will also require the Academy and advertisers to adapt metrics and monetization strategies. Networks and traditional advertisers will watch closely to assess whether digital exclusivity increases viewership or merely fragments established TV audiences.
Production-wise, moving the Oscars into a venue built for multipurpose live events requires careful engineering: camera positions, orchestra placement, sightlines, stage mechanics and broadcast compound logistics all differ from a purpose-built theater like Dolby. AEG’s planned technical upgrades aim to bridge those gaps, but implementation will be scrutinized during rehearsals and the first live run. Finally, the partnership’s 11-year span to 2039 signals the Academy’s intent to plan medium-term changes rather than single-year experiments.
Comparison & Data
| Venue | Primary Years | Broadcast/Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Dorothy Chandler Pavilion | 1969–2001 | Hosted Academy ceremonies for multiple decades |
| Kodak/Dolby Theatre (Hollywood) | 2002–2028 | Focus venue through the 100th Oscars; televised on ABC |
| Peacock Theater, L.A. Live | 2029–2039 (planned) | New home; first Oscars on YouTube; AEG upgrades planned |
The table above summarizes the venue shifts and key broadcast notes. Historically the Oscars have alternated between downtown and Hollywood sites depending on production and capacity decisions; the 2029 move represents the first downtown, L.A. Live–based run in decades. The shift to YouTube for the 101st ceremony marks a clear deviation from a long-standing network broadcast model.
Reactions & Quotes
Academy leadership framed the partnership as a technological and creative step forward for the ceremony, emphasizing collaboration with AEG to tailor the venue to the show’s needs.
“We are excited to work with AEG to make L.A. Live the backdrop for our global celebration of cinema,”
Bill Kramer & Lynette Howell Taylor, Academy
AEG highlighted the cultural significance of the Oscars and its readiness to adapt the complex to support an event of that scale.
“L.A. Live was built to host moments that define culture, and we look forward to reimagining the Oscars’ look and feel,”
Todd Goldstein, Chief Revenue Officer, AEG
Industry observers noted that while the move may energize the live-event experience, it also creates technical and commercial challenges that will be visible in the first YouTube-streamed ceremony.
“This is a strategic bet on streaming and downtown activation; execution in 2029 will determine whether it becomes a new template,”
Industry analyst (comment)
Unconfirmed
- No official capacity changes or exact seating configuration for the Peacock Theater specific to the Oscars have been published yet.
- Financial terms of the Academy–AEG agreement, including who bears upgrade costs and revenue splits, have not been disclosed publicly.
- Details about ticketing, VIP packages or whether the show’s format will change for a YouTube audience remain unannounced.
Bottom Line
The Academy’s 2029 move to L.A. Live’s Peacock Theater, paired with a YouTube global rights deal, signals a deliberate experiment in venue and platform strategy for one of entertainment’s most high-profile live shows. The agreement runs through 2039, giving both the Academy and AEG time to refine production, audience engagement and commercial models across multiple ceremonies.
Key metrics to watch ahead of the 101st ceremony include viewership and engagement figures on YouTube, technical performance of the upgraded Peacock Theater during rehearsals, and the economic impact on downtown L.A.’s hospitality sector. If successful, the partnership could redefine where and how the Oscars are staged and distributed for a global, digitally connected audience.