On Sunday, March 3, 2024, the 97th Academy Awards made history by being livestreamed for the first time on Hulu, alongside its traditional broadcast on ABC. The ceremony began at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT, but the excitement was marred for thousands of Hulu subscribers who encountered significant issues accessing the service. Just as the night’s best picture winner was about to be announced, many users reported that the Hulu livestream dropped, leaving them in the dark during one of the most anticipated moments of the event. This marked a disappointing technical hiccup for Hulu, which had hopes of expanding its audience and providing a seamless streaming experience for this prestigious event.
The problems began even before the ceremony reached its climax. At 4:28 p.m. PT, more than 34,000 users reported issues with Hulu, according to Downdetector, a website that tracks outages and service disruptions. Hulu’s official support account on X (formerly Twitter) acknowledged the problem at 4:39 p.m. PT, assuring users that their team was actively investigating and working to resolve the issue. The Disney+ support account also chimed in, advising users to restart their apps or check for updates if they were having trouble accessing the Oscars livestream. Despite these efforts, the problems persisted for many viewers.
At 5:48 p.m. PT, Hulu Support provided an update, stating that their team had identified the issue and that affected users should be able to log back in soon. They also apologized for the inconvenience. Hulu suggested that customers who were still experiencing problems should reboot their devices, as their developers had implemented changes to mitigate the interruption. However, just as it seemed like the issue had been resolved, the livestream flickered again for many users around 7:40 p.m. PT—mere minutes before the best picture winner, “Anora,” was announced. Instead of the highly anticipated reveal, viewers were met with a message stating, “The live event has now ended.”
The root of this second disruption appeared to be a scheduling-system issue. The Oscars telecast was officially scheduled to conclude at 7:32 p.m. PT, but as is often the case with live events, it ran long. Unfortunately, Hulu’s system adhered to the original end time, cutting off the stream prematurely for some users who were watching via the service’s on-demand platform. This mishap left many Hulu subscribers frustrated, as they were unable to see the final moments of the ceremony. The glitch underscored the challenges of streaming live events, particularly high-stakes ones like the Oscars, where any disruption can have a significant impact on the viewer experience.
In addition to the livestream dropping, some Hulu users experienced other issues throughout the evening. For instance, some subscribers reported being unable to log in to the service at all for a period of time. Others who could log in encountered problems when trying to access the Oscars livestream or other on-demand content, such as blank screens or error messages. A few users even received messages suggesting that the Oscars telecast “isn’t available to watch in your location” or “isn’t included in your current subscription,” further confusing and disappointing them. These varied issues highlighted the complexity of the problem and the potential gaps in Hulu’s systems.
In response to the technical difficulties, a Disney spokesperson reached out to Variety, expressing regret for the experience. “This evening, we experienced technical and live stream issues on Hulu which impacted some Oscars viewers,” the spokesperson said. “We apologize for the experience and will make a full replay of the event available as soon as possible.” This gesture aimed to placate disappointed subscribers, many of whom had been looking forward to the ceremony. As of Monday, March 4, the Oscars were made available for on-demand viewing on Hulu, giving those who missed the live broadcast a chance to catch up.
The Oscars livestream was a significant milestone for Hulu, as it marked the first time the ceremony was available via streaming. By partnering with ABC and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Hulu hoped to expand its audience and demonstrate its capability to handle high-profile live events. However, the technical snafus during the broadcast posed a setback, raising concerns about the reliability of its streaming service. Despite these challenges, Hulu remains one of the leading streaming platforms, with a reported 53.6 million subscribers as of December 2024. The company’s goal now will be to ensure that such disruptions are minimized in the future, as it continues to compete in the ever-evolving streaming landscape. For viewers who missed the live broadcast, the availability of the Oscars on-demand provides a second chance to experience the magic of the event, but for many, the technical issues during the live stream left a lasting impression—one that Hulu will need to address to maintain its reputation as a trusted streaming provider.
