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The Oscars-YouTube Brand Problem

The streamer’s bold bid to host the Academy Awards offers maximum reach for a show that was becoming minimally niche, but mixing prestige and base populism has its potentially problematic downsides.

Oscars
There are many awards shows. But you see that bald, gold Oscar statuette anywhere in Hollywood… or Honolulu… or Hong Kong… and you immediately think exclusive, glamorous, prestigious. Has anyone ever used those three words to describe YouTube? Photo: George Rose/Getty Images
Matthew Belloni
December 19, 2025

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If we’re being honest, the value of the Oscars has never been about the show. It’s about the brand. Exclusive. Glamorous. Prestigious. That’s what grew a silly awards dinner, and by association the silly nonprofit club that staged it, into a cultural institution whose annual popularity contest commands about $100 million a year for broadcast rights. There are many awards shows. But you see that bald, gold Oscar statuette anywhere in Hollywood… or Honolulu… or Hong Kong… and you immediately think exclusive, glamorous, prestigious.