Disney And Hulu Face Backlash In Response To Oscars Live-Stream Malfunction

The 2025 Oscars were live-streamed on Hulu for the first time ever this past Sunday. It was a big deal for parent company, Disney, as it anticipated a massive boost in ad revenue and viewership, although things ran far from smoothly, as reports came in that the stream faced numerous delays, malfunctions, and freezes.

The stream began with live red-carpet coverage before the ceremony, complete with industry-related interviews and first looks at the glamourous looks given by the attendees. However, as soon as the pre-show ended, the stream took to a new episode of 20/20 rather than jumping right into the official ceremony, much to the confusion of audiences at home. This, coupled with an error many faced when trying to catch the 4pm PST ceremony as it began, the error on television screens read: “Unable to log-on? We’re on it! Our team is currently investigating and we hope to have things back up and running soon. Thank you for your patience!” This caused many delays in witnessing one of the most anticipated parts of the show. The ceremony opened with a Wicked medley, performed by stars Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo. The medley began with a rendition of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” by Grande, an homage to the source material’s 1939 The Wizard of Oz, and ended with Grande coupled with Erivo in the massive duet “Defying Gravity”. It was a grand opening to the show, but many found it hard to tune in through the streaming service as it began.

Though most of the ceremony continued on without a hitch, another malfunction popped up just moments before the announcement for the Best Actress honor, which went to Mikey Madison for her titular performance in Anora. The program had simply ended, bringing more confusion and justified frustration to the immersed viewers at home. Disney has since released a statement regarding the unprecedented technical difficulties, stating “Yesterday evening, we experienced technical and livestream issues on Hulu which impacted some Oscars viewers. We apologize for the experience. A full replay of the event is available on Hulu and Hulu on Disney+.” Needless to say, streaming services are still ironing out the kinks when it comes to live broadcasts, though providers and viewers alike hope that these problems are solved by the time it gets to the next awards season.