Hulu viewers miss Oscars climax in latest mishap for streaming
platforms' live programming
[March 04, 2025]
By WYATTE GRANTHAM-PHILIPS
NEW YORK (AP) — Sunday night marked Hulu's first time airing the Oscars
live. But its A cademy Awards debut ended on a chaotic and frustratingly
premature note.
Hulu's livestream cut off in the final moments of the show — with two
major award categories, best actress and best picture, still to be
announced because of a scheduling system issue. Those viewing the awards
ceremony on Hulu instead saw an error code message that stated the event
was over.
Viewer outrage, predictably, ensued online. Fans, including those
throwing Oscar-viewing parties, eagerly await the final, pivotal moments
of Hollywood's biggest night. Hulu viewers missed Mikey Madison and
“Anora” win the night's titles for both best actress and best picture in
real time.
The Hulu stream also had a rough start, with a few users reporting
issues logging on to the platform due to another technical problem. For
some, that meant missing the show’s musical intro performed by “Wicked”
stars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande.
Disney, which has run Hulu since 2019, apologized to viewers.
“Yesterday evening, we experienced technical and live stream issues on
Hulu which impacted some Oscars viewers," the company wrote in a
statement sent to The Associated Press on Monday. “We apologize for the
experience.”
Disney added that a “full replay” of the event is now available on Hulu
and Hulu on Disney+, the streamers' bundled offering. That replay
includes the final moments of Sunday night's show.
Hulu's foray into the Oscars arrives as more streaming platforms are
betting big on live programming of prominent events — from a handful of
awards shows and pop culture moments, to major sports matchups like the
Super Bowl.
But some have gone smoother than others. And Hulu's stumble on Sunday
was not the first among similar endeavors from today's biggest streaming
platforms.
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Daria Ekamasova, from left, Lindsey Normington, Vache Tovmasyan,
Karren Karagulian, Alex Coco, front left, Samantha Quan, front
right, Mikey Madison, Sean Baker, Mark Eydelshteyn, and Yura Borisov
accept the award for best picture for "Anora" during the Oscars on
Sunday, March 2, 2025, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. Meg Ryan
and Billy Crystal look on from back of stage right.(AP Photo/Chris
Pizzello)
 Netflix users, for example,
expressed frustrations with streaming and buffering problems before
and during November's widely-watched, livestream fight between Mike
Tyson and Jake Paul. And in 2023, the platform's “Love Is Blind”
fans also saw a lengthy delay ahead of a reunion special originally
set to air live. Meanwhile, CBS All Access, now Paramount+,
reportedly crashed for many viewers at the start of the 2021 Super
Bowl.
And in the earlier days of streaming, Hulu's more-expensive live TV
service also cut off early for certain users in the final minutes of
the 2018 Super Bowl — with the streamer citing a technical issue
that it said impacted some of its feeds from NBC. "While the
interruption could not have come at a more important time, we are
confident we can prevent this in the future," Hulu Support wrote on
social media at the time.
While the Super Bowl bounces around between broadcast and streaming
homes each year, the Oscars have aired on ABC for decades. The
network's contract with the Academy currently runs through 2028, a
year that will mark the Oscars' 100th anniversary.
Sunday marked the first time cord cutters could watch through
standard Hulu plans, but subscribers of Hulu Live TV have been able
to tune into the awards show in years past. The show has also
continued to be available on other services offering live streaming
of ABC, such as YouTubeTV, AT&T TV and FuboTV.
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AP Writer Beatrice Dupuy in New York contributed to this report.
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