The 98th Academy Awards air March 15 on ABC and Hulu. Outside the US? Stream free on ITVX, 7plus, or RTÉ Player with a VPN. Full guide for every device.
The 98th Academy Awards are less than two weeks away, and 2026 brings a major change to how Americans can watch. For the first time ever, Hulu is streaming the Oscars live to all subscribers, not just those paying for the Hulu + Live TV add-on. That's a big deal if you've been wondering how to watch the Oscars without cable.
But here's the part most guides leave out: you don't need Hulu at all. The Oscars are broadcast completely free in at least five countries outside the United States. ITVX in the UK, 7plus in Australia, RTÉ Player in Ireland, CTV in Canada, and Joyn in Germany all carry the ceremony live without requiring a paid subscription.
If you're outside those countries (or travelling on Oscar night), a VPN is all you need to access any of those free streams. This guide covers every way to watch the 2026 Oscars for free, on every device, from anywhere.
The 98th Academy Awards ceremony takes place on Sunday, March 15, 2026 at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood. The broadcast begins at 7 p.m. Eastern / 4 p.m. Pacific on ABC.
Conan O'Brien is hosting for the second year in a row after receiving widespread acclaim for the 97th ceremony in March 2025. Producers Raj Kapoor and Katy Mullan are returning for their third consecutive year, with Hamish Hamilton directing.
Here's when the ceremony starts in other time zones:
If you're in the US, you have more options in 2026 than any previous year. Here's every way to watch.
The Oscars air live on your local ABC station. If you have a digital antenna plugged into your TV, you can watch the entire ceremony for free. No subscription, no login, no app. This is still the simplest way to watch the Oscars without cable, and it works on any television with an antenna.
This is the big change for 2026. Hulu is streaming the Oscars live to all subscribers for the first time. In previous years, live ABC content was locked behind the Hulu + Live TV tier (which costs significantly more). This year, even the standard Hulu plan includes the Oscars live stream. If you don't have Hulu yet, new subscribers can sign up for a free trial and watch the ceremony without paying.
If you've been searching for how to watch Oscars on Hulu, the answer is now straightforward: open the Hulu app on Oscar night and the live stream will be available on the homepage.
If you subscribe to any of the major live TV bundles, ABC is included in your channel lineup:
Several of these offer free trials, so if you're only signing up to watch the Oscars, you can cancel before the trial ends.
You can also stream the ceremony on ABC.com or through the ABC app. The catch: you need to authenticate with a cable, satellite, or live TV streaming provider. Without a provider login, the ABC app won't let you watch live content.
The Academy Awards have free broadcast partners in several major markets. If you're in any of these countries (or connected to a VPN server in one of them), you can stream the full ceremony at no cost.
ITV is the exclusive UK broadcaster of the Oscars for the third consecutive year. The entire ceremony, plus live red carpet coverage hosted by Jonathan Ross, is free on ITV1 and ITVX. You need a UK IP address and a free ITVX account (email registration only). Red carpet coverage begins before midnight on March 15, with the main ceremony following at around 12:30 a.m. GMT.
The Seven Network holds the Australian Oscars rights through 2028 under a deal with Disney Entertainment. The ceremony airs live and free on Channel 7 and streams on 7plus. Coverage starts from 5:30 a.m. AEDT on Monday March 16 with Sunrise, followed by the red carpet show at approximately 9:30 a.m. and the main ceremony from 10 a.m. AEDT. An encore screening airs in the evening. You need an Australian IP address to access 7plus.
RTÉ broadcasts the Oscars free-to-air in Ireland. The ceremony streams live on RTÉ Player with no account required. Just an Irish IP address. Coverage starts around midnight on March 16 (same time zone as the UK).
CTV airs the Oscars live in Canada at 7 p.m. ET, the same time as the US broadcast. If you want to stream rather than watch on cable, the ceremony is available on Crave. CTV is free over-the-air with an antenna. Crave requires a subscription but does not require a separate cable package to stream live events.
ProSieben is broadcasting the Oscars live on German free-to-air TV for the 28th year in a row, starting at 11:45 p.m. CET on March 15. Joyn begins its free live stream even earlier, with red carpet coverage from 10:30 p.m. CET. Steven Gätjen hosts the German-language coverage. You need a German IP address to access the Joyn stream.
If you're outside the countries listed above, or travelling on Oscar night, a VPN lets you access any of those free international streams. The UK (ITVX) and Australia (7plus) are the best options because both offer high-quality streams with English-language commentary and no paid subscription.
Here's the setup:
Prefer an Australian stream? Connect to an Australia server instead and open 7plus.com.au. The Australian broadcast runs during the daytime (10 a.m. AEDT Monday), which is useful if you're in an Asian or Pacific time zone and want to avoid a late-night stream.
If the stream shows a location error: ITVX and 7plus both try to detect VPN connections. If you get blocked, try these steps:
Both Roku and Amazon Fire TV support the apps you need to stream the Oscars. Here's how to set it up on each device.
If you're in the US, the simplest path is the Hulu app. Search for "Hulu" in the Roku Channel Store, install it, and log in. The Oscars live stream will appear on the homepage on March 15. You can also install the ABC app, though it requires a cable provider login.
If you're using a VPN to watch on ITVX, you'll need to configure VPN Super at the router level first (Roku doesn't support VPN apps natively). Once your router is connected to a UK server, open the ITVX app on Roku and the stream will work as if you're in the UK.
Fire TV is more flexible because it supports sideloaded apps. You can install VPN Super directly on your Fire Stick, connect to a UK server, then open the ITVX app. No router configuration needed. Search "VPN Super" in the Amazon Appstore, or sideload the Android APK.
For US viewers wondering how to watch Oscars on Fire TV without a VPN, install the Hulu app or the ABC app from the Amazon Appstore.
This comes up every year, and the answer for the live ceremony is no. Disney owns both ABC and Hulu, which creates understandable confusion. The Oscar nominations announcement in January 2026 did stream on Disney+ (alongside Hulu and ABC News Live). But the ceremony itself is exclusive to ABC and Hulu in the United States.
If you have a Disney+ subscription but not Hulu, you won't be able to watch the Oscars live through Disney+. Hulu offers free trials for new subscribers, so signing up specifically for Oscar night is a viable option.
Outside the US, Disney+ is not carrying the ceremony in any market. International rights belong to the local broadcasters listed above (ITVX, 7plus, CTV, RTÉ, ProSieben/Joyn).
If you can't watch live, or want to rewatch the ceremony from the beginning, here's where to find it after broadcast.
If you're using a VPN, the same server connection that works for the live stream will also work for the catch-up replay. Connect to a UK server, open ITVX, and search for "Oscars" in the catch-up section.
The 2026 race has been one of the most competitive in recent memory. The nominations were announced on January 22 by Danielle Brooks and Lewis Pullman, and several categories are wide open heading into the final vote (which closed on March 5).
Key films in contention for Best Picture include Sinners (Ryan Coogler), One Battle After Another (Paul Thomas Anderson), Sentimental Value (Joachim Trier), and several others. The full list of nominees across all categories is available on Oscars.org.
The ceremony is also introducing a new award category for 2026, part of a broader set of rule changes the Academy announced for the 98th edition. Between the new category, Conan O'Brien's return, and several tight races, this year's show has more genuine unpredictability than most recent ceremonies.
If you're using a VPN and can pick any country, here's how the free options compare.
Go with ITVX. It has the best picture quality, the most comprehensive English-language coverage, and the widest catch-up window if you want to rewatch later. Connect to a VPN Super UK server, register a free ITVX account, and you're set for the full red carpet and ceremony.
In the US, tune into ABC at 7 p.m. ET or open Hulu (any subscription tier). Outside the US, open ITVX (UK), 7plus (Australia), RTÉ Player (Ireland), CTV (Canada), or Joyn (Germany). If you're not in any of those countries, connect VPN Super to a UK server and stream on ITVX for free.
Three options. First, use a digital antenna to pick up your local ABC station for free. Second, sign up for Hulu (the standard plan now includes the Oscars live stream for 2026). Third, use a VPN to access a free international stream like ITVX or 7plus.
Yes. For the first time in 2026, Hulu is streaming the Oscars live to all subscribers, including those on the basic plan. Previously, live ABC content required the more expensive Hulu + Live TV tier. New subscribers can sign up for a free trial.
CTV airs the ceremony live at 7 p.m. ET, and it streams on Crave. If you have a TV antenna, CTV is free over-the-air. Crave requires a subscription for streaming.
No. Despite Disney owning both ABC and Hulu, the Oscars ceremony is not available on Disney+. It's exclusive to ABC (live TV) and Hulu (streaming) in the US. The January nominations announcement was on Disney+, but the ceremony itself is not.
Hulu (US) and ITVX (UK) both make the full ceremony available for on-demand replay within hours of the live broadcast. 7plus (Australia) airs an encore screening in the evening. If you're using a VPN, the same server connection works for catch-up as it does for live viewing.
The ceremony begins at 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT on Sunday, March 15. In the UK and Ireland, that's midnight GMT. In Australia, it's 10 a.m. AEDT on Monday, March 16.
Only if you're outside the US, UK, Australia, Ireland, Canada, or Germany. Those countries all have free or widely available broadcasts. If you're anywhere else, or travelling on Oscar night, connect VPN Super to a UK server and stream through ITVX at no cost.
Connect to a United Kingdom server for ITVX (best English-language coverage, 1080p quality). Alternatively, connect to Australia for 7plus if you want a daytime viewing window, or Ireland for RTÉ Player if you don't want to create an account.
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