'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Viewers watching the Oscars on Hulu had their livestream experience marred after the streaming platform was plagued with glitches, ending the broadcast early before the Best Actress and Best Picture awards were handed out.
The 97th Academy Awards, held at the Dolby Theatre on March 2, 2025, was livestreamed on Hulu for the first time. However, on social media, subscribers complained about glitches during the broadcast.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, viewers missed out on Oscars host Conan O'Brien's opening monologue and Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo's opening musical performance. The stream also cut off at exactly 10:32 pm ET, just as Mikey Madison was announced as Best Actress for Anora.
The broadcast reportedly shut down before the actress made her way to the stage to receive her statue, with a message thanking viewers for watching and indicating the ceremony was over.
Hulu's premature ending of the broadcast drew the ire of many subscribers, who took to X to vent their frustrations against the streaming platform. One user warned the platform, tweeting:
"Hulu your days are numbered."
Several netizens reacted similarly, airing their disbelief at Hulu for disrupting the broadcast before the ceremony ended.
"Hulu just turned off the oscars right before best actress & movie of the year????" one user questioned.
"Hulu telling me the Oscars are over when they haven’t announced best picture," another person added.
"Hulu why are you tweeting about the oscars as if your own stream ain’t working," someone else commented.
"They might as well have given the oscars to tubi, this hulu sh*t is ridiculous," another user posted.
However, some seemingly found the humor in the situation, claiming that Adrien Brody, who won Best Actor for The Brutalist, gave a long acceptance speech that ran overtime.
Others referenced Sean Baker's acceptance speech after he won Best Director for Anora, where he campaigned for movies to have better theatrical releases and advocated for more people to watch films in theatres.
"Them letting Adrien Brody ramble on for ten minutes and then Hulu cutting the feed? (crying emoji)," one user tweeted.
"Adrian Brody’s Oscar speech was so long that it made the Oscar broadcast go past its viewing time on Hulu," another person added.
"Hulu cutting the oscars because we were told to go back to theaters instead of streaming services," someone else commented.
"Adrian Brody winning for an AI enhanced performance and then speaking so long Hulu cut off the entire show…. CHOP," another user wrote.
Hulu issued an apology after prematurely ending the Oscars broadcast
Hulu apologized to its subscribers for the glitches and early ending of the Oscars live broadcast in a statement to Vulture, adding that it would release a "full replay of the event" on the platform as soon as possible.
“This evening, we experienced technical and live stream issues on Hulu which impacted some Oscars viewers. We apologize for the experience and will make a full replay of the event available as soon as possible," the statement read.
The platform began facing technical issues from the start, but the glitch was reportedly fixed two hours into the ceremony at 6:15 pm PT, as per The Hollywood Reporter.
The Disney-owned streaming platform also asked users to restart their Hulu app should they encounter any glitch via a post from the @DisneyPlusHelp's X account, writing:
“@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!
According to Deadline, the glitch arose after "a technical issue with a login system." While the glitch was "identified and fixed," viewers were disappointed after the stream cut off before the top two awards of the night, Best Actress and Best Picture, were announced.
The screens displayed a message that said, “Thank you for watching” and, “The live event has now ended.”
As per The Verge, the incident was most likely because Hulu had set the event's cut-off time for 10:32 pm (which is when the broadcast shut down), but the ceremony reportedly ran over the stipulated time limit. Hulu has yet to confirm this claim.
In other news, Anora became the most-awarded film at the 2025 Oscars, winning five statues, including Best Actress, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best Editing and Best Movie.
Meanwhile, Adrien Brody won Best Actor for The Brutalist and Zoe Saldaña won Best Supporting Actress for Emilia Pérez. Kieran Culkin took home his first Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his role in A Real Pain.
Meanwhile, Wicked, which received 10 nominations, won Best Costume Design and Best Production Design. The Substance won Best Makeup and Hairstyling, while El Mal from Emilia Pérez won Best Original Song.
