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Awards season’s biggest night is here: the Academy Awards will once again take place live from the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. The ceremony will be broadcast live on ABC and streamed through ABC.com and Hulu (for Hulu subscribers, including those on the base plan), bringing together Hollywood’s biggest stars to celebrate the best films of the past year.
If you’re planning to tune in live, the broadcast begins at 7:00 p.m. EDT/ 4 p.m. PDT, with pre-show and red carpet coverage starting at 3:00 p.m. EDT/ 12 p.m. PDT. Cable subscribers can watch the ceremony live by logging into their account at ABC.com, but if you’ve cut the cord, you still have plenty of options for streaming the Oscars in real time. Several live TV streaming platforms carry ABC in their channel lineups, allowing viewers to watch the ceremony without a traditional cable subscription, including DirecTV and Sling TV.
We like DirecTV because it is currently offering its MyNews Genre Pack for $34.99 per month (normally $39.99) for the first two months, which includes live access to ABC so you can stream the 2026 Oscars (valid only for new subscribers. Meanwhile, Sling TV’s Blue plan starts at $55/month. Just make sure ABC is available in your area before subscribing, since the network is only offered in select markets on Sling TV.
Whether you’re tuning in for the red carpet fashion, viral acceptance speeches, or to see which film takes home the coveted Best Picture trophy, there are plenty of ways to watch the Oscars live—with or without cable.
