Hulu’s Oscars Livestream Hit Some Snags

The 2025 Academy Awards (a.k.a. The Oscars) were a big night for Hollywood; and for Hulu, which was streaming the ceremony live for the first time. But instead of a smooth, red carpet-worthy debut, Hulu hit some technical bumps that left thousands of viewers refreshing their screens instead of watching the show. Not exactly the glamorous experience they were hoping for.

A Rough Start…

Just as the Oscars were kicking off around 6:30 p.m. ET, reports started rolling in about Hulu’s stream going down. According to Downdetector, over 34,700 users experienced issues ranging from login failures to full-on service outages. One user said, “After 3 hours Hulu just turned off the feed with the sjpw still going on,” while another vented their frustrations, “Cleared the cache, still cannot log in via the website, let alone the app. No Oscars, no CSI: Miami reruns, no FBI reruns later after midnight. UGH!!!!”

Hulu Support even jumped on X (formerly Twitter) to address the problem, reassuring subscribers that they were working on a fix saying, “Having issues logging in? If so – we’re on it! Our team is actively investigating, and we hope to have things back up and running soon.”

With a Learning Curve

Yeah, it was frustrating, but let’s be real; live-streaming a massive event like the Oscars isn’t easy, and hiccups are part of the process. The fact that Hulu took this leap at all is huge. Traditional cable isn’t the default anymore, and streaming services stepping up to take on live broadcasts means more flexibility and accessibility for viewers in the long run.

It’s also worth noting that Hulu isn’t the first streamer to run into live-event struggles. HBO’s service, Max, faced major issues with the “House of the Dragon” premiere, and Netflix’s attempt at a live “Love Is Blind” reunion in 2024 was a disaster. Even giants like Amazon had some buffering problems when they first started streaming “Thursday Night Football.” The difference? Those platforms kept improving… and Hulu will, too.

Fans Were Still Not Happy

Unsurprisingly, social media exploded with complaints. Some users threatened to cancel their subscriptions, while others just roasted Hulu for botching such a huge event. Reddit had an influx of comments from those wanting to watch the Oscars and being unable to.

This wasn’t just a bad night for viewers; it was a potential nightmare for advertisers, too. Hulu’s parent company, Disney, had already sold all its ad slots for the broadcast, with 30-second commercials going for as much as $1.7 million, per Deadline. But if a big chunk of the audience couldn’t even access the stream? That’s a problem.

Streaming is the Future

Despite the glitches, Hulu’s involvement in the Oscars is a sign of where things are headed. More and more, live events are shifting away from cable, and streaming platforms are figuring out how to handle the demand. Sure, this wasn’t a perfect first attempt, but every new venture has growing pains.

At the end of the day, Hulu’s first Oscars livestream may not have been flawless, but it’s progress. Streaming is the future, and with every big event, platforms like Hulu will get better at delivering a seamless experience. So yeah, some viewers had a rough night, but this is just the beginning. Give it a little time… before long, streaming the Oscars (or any other live event) will be second nature.