Hulu’s Livestream of the Oscars Glitches Out as Ceremony Begins, Cuts Off Best Picture Winner – Hollywood Reporter
HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 09: In this handout photo provided by A.M.P.A.S. Oscars statuettes are on display backstage during the 92nd Annual Academy Awards at the Dolby Theatre on February 09, 2020 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Matt Petit - Handout/A.M.P.A.S. via Getty Images)
Subscribe for full access to The Hollywood ReporterSubscribe for full access to The Hollywood ReporterComplaints came in quickly as the streamer’s much-touted first year sharing the broadcast went haywire for many subscribers; the company said to update its app.
By
Kevin Dolak
Hulu’s big night at the 2025 Oscars was cut short on Sunday evening for many viewers when the streamer’s red carpet coverage of Hollywood’s biggest night was followed by glitches in the stream of the broadcast of the ceremony, leaving its paying customers in the dark for more than two hours as the Academy Awards took place in Los Angeles — and then at the ceremony’s end, when Hulu’s event cut off early.
For the first time, the Academy Awards ceremony was streamed live on Hulu. Since the ceremony is broadcast on ABC, cord-cutters could watch it live on any live TV streaming service that carries ABC, including Hulu + Live TV, Sling, Fubo and DirecTV Stream. Yet many Hulu subscribers couldn’t watch all of the Oscars action unfold as the beginning of this year’s ceremony was beset with major interruptions, causing viewers to miss out on Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande’s live Wicked performances and Conan O’Brien’s opening monologue.
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Hulu was able to fix that glitch, which a representative told The Hollywood Reporter around 6:15 p.m. PT — more than two hours into the Oscars ceremony — was the result of the technician issue that at that point had been resolved; all impacted Hulu users were able to log in at that point, the rep stated. The rep cited a technical matter with Hulu’s login system as the cause of the widespread issue.
However, that was not the end of Hulu’s live stream meltdown on Sunday. The event cut off early for some subscription video-on-demand users, who then missed the announcement of the best actress and best picture winners. What they got was an onscreen message from Hulu thanking viewers for watching the program and indicating that it had ended.
During the glitches at the top of the show, annoyed and perplexed Hulu subscribers were quick to take to X to complain about the matter. One user pointed out that Hulu is prone to having issues when it comes to live events streaming on the platform.
“Reminder Hulu servers can’t handle live events,” X user @DogeCoinAud wrote in response to Hulu’s post about best actor nominee Sebastian Stan, which read, “Reminder that this always was and forever will be a Sebastain STAN account,” with the actor’s name misspelled.
The company was quick to catch on to the early hiccups and responded on social media to the technical issues. Around 4:45 p.m. PT, Disney+ Help’s account posted on X that users having trouble streaming the Oscars broadcast should restart their Hulu+ or other Hulu application or check for app updates.
“@DisneyPlusHelp Thank you for reaching out! The 97th Oscars will be broadcast live on ABC-TV and are streaming on Hulu starting at 7 p.m. ET / 3 p.m. PT. If you are having trouble accessing it, try restarting your app or checking for updates. Let us know if you need further assistance!@DisneyPlusHelp Thank you for reaching out!”
THR has learned that the early end of Hulu’s Oscars stream resulted from a scheduling system issue, according to a source familiar with the matter.
Hulu is not the only video platform beset by headaches while segueing into live events. Netflix, after it was plagued with persistent buffering glitches and frozen screens that resulted in fans missing out on moments of the much-hyped Jake Paul–Mike Tyson boxing match on November 15, may be facing a class action lawsuit. Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos responded to the ire, saying, “We were stressing the limits of the internet itself that night.”Sign up for THR news straight to your inbox every daySign up for THR news straight to your inbox every daySubscribe for full access to The Hollywood ReporterSend us a tip using our anonymous form.
