It won’t be the traditional red carpet event with flashy arrivals this year, but we might see a few interesting face-mask-and-outfit-coordinated combos if the Grammys are anything to go by. Based on last year’s programming, you’ll be able to watch the red carpet on the ABC site or app from 5:30 p.m. ET, the Academy’s official Twitter from 6:30 p.m. ET, or the E network, available on many live TV streaming services, from 5 p.m. ET.
Frances McDormand stars in best picture nominee Nomadland.
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Based on last year’s programming, these are the expected start times:
Date and start time
David Fincher’s Mank leads this year’s Oscar nominations with 10. It faces stiff competition in the best picture category from awards darling Nomadland, directed by Chloé Zhao. Both she and Emerald Fennell, who’s behind the haunting revenge thriller Promising Young Woman, are nominated for best director, making this the first time two women have been nominated in the category in the same year. It’s exciting stuff. Check out the full list of nominations here.
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Here’s everything you need to know to watch the 2021 Oscars awards show.
The 93rd Academy Awards airs Sunday, April 25 on ABC. Like most awards shows, the ceremony felt the impact of the pandemic: The Academy delayed the ceremony by two months and extended the eligibility window to accomodate films released in 2020 through to February 2021. Another tweak allowed films that originally had a theatrical release, but which were forced to release straight to digital platforms, to be eligible for Oscars. A positive is, thanks to the delay, you can stream almost all of the films right now.
Who’s hosting?
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Who are the nominees?
UK: The Oscars start at 1 a.m. GMT on Monday, April 26.
Who’s presenting?
What else? The ceremony will be spread out over two locations this year: Los Angeles Union Station and the Dolby Theater. Following in the footsteps of the Grammys, only nominees, their guest and presenters have been given the green light to attend. The Academy announced on Thursday that nominees who don’t attend won’t have the option to Zoom in (the Golden Globes experienced a few embarrassing technical difficulties). Will there be a host? The Oscars went hostless last year and it makes even more sense to do the same this time around.
Is there a red carpet?
If the show does go without a host, there’ll be a long list of presenters. We’ll update this post once they’ve been announced.
How to watch the Oscars without cable
US: The Oscars start at 5 p.m. PT/8 p.m. ET on Sunday, April 25.
- ABC is streaming the live broadcast of the Oscars on the ABC website, but only to specific cities and only after you sign in with a participating pay TV provider — typically a cable company, satellite provider or livestreaming service.
- Another option is Locast, which streams local broadcasters, including ABC, in certain large US cities, for free. And of course, you could always use an antenna to try to pick up the ABC station in your area (DVR optional).
- If you subscribe to a live TV streaming service that carries ABC in your city, you can use it to watch the Oscars too. AT&T TV, Hulu with Live TV and YouTube TV all carry ABC in most US cities. All of them offer a seven-day free trial, so you can sign up now and cancel after the ceremony if you want. Note that Sling TV, Fubo TV, AT&T and Philo don’t carry ABC at all.
YouTube TV costs a month and includes ABC. Plug in your ZIP code on its channel lineup page to see what live, local networks are available where you live.
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- Australia: While it hasn’t been confirmed yet, we’re expecting the Oscars to air on Seven like last year.
- UK: You can watch the Oscars using a Sky Cinema Pass with Now TV (a seven-day free trial is offered).
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