Summarize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs Hulu users hoping to watch the 97th Academy Awards through the streaming service were left frustrated Sunday night after a series of technical issues disrupted their viewing experience.The problem, which began at the start of the ceremony, prevented some subscribers from logging in, while others saw their stream cut off before the night’s biggest awards were announced.Newsweek contacted Hulu for comment via email outside of normal working hours.Why It MattersThe streaming disruption comes as the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences considers the future of its broadcast rights.Bloomberg reported Sunday that the Academy is considering a move away from Disney when its contract expires in 2028, though no negotiations with other networks or streamers has begun.
The exterior of Hulu on January 07, 2025 in Los Angeles, California.
The exterior of Hulu on January 07, 2025 in Los Angeles, California.
Jeremy Moeller/Getty Images
What To KnowThe outage began just as the Oscars were getting underway, with many users reporting login failures. According to USA Today, more than 34,000 Hulu subscribers had reported issues accessing the service shortly after the show started.”Having issues logging in?” Hulu’s support account posted on X (formerly Twitter) around 7:39 p.m. ET. “If so – we’re on it! Our team is actively investigating, and we hope to have things back up and running soon.”Users trying to stream the ceremony were unexpectedly logged out of their accounts and faced “invalid email” errors when attempting to log back in.These technical issues persisted for at least the first 40 minutes of the Oscars telecast.The stream was eventually restored, Hulu said at 9:21 p.m. ET, but subscribers faced another blow when the feed unexpectedly cut out before the announcement of Best Actress and Best Picture.IndieWire reported that at approximately 10:30 p.m. ET—when the Oscars were scheduled to conclude—some viewers saw a message stating, “Thank You For Watching!” and “This live event has now ended.” However, the show actually ran until about 10:45 p.m. ET, meaning subscribers who relied on Hulu missed some of the ceremony’s biggest moments.Anger on social media ensued, with “Hulu” trending on X as users vented their frustration. As of 7:15 a.m. ET there were more than 50,000 posts about Hulu.What People Are SayingX user @Carolin41101443 posted: “I’m so fed up—I’m about to cancel all my subscriptions. HULU works on my phone, but I can’t sign in on my TV. What a joke. These platforms charge just to give us headaches!”X user Jonny_Dillinger posted: “@hulu_support @hulu you are ROYALLY f****** this up lol. Logged out on all my TV’s can’t login via phone. And now it doesn’t even offer the live stream on my phone.”Facebook user Marcia Dibble posted: “Really, Hulu?! Millions of us cut off before the last two awards? What are you going to do about this #hulu? #HuluSupport? The Hulu Fb homepage still has the gall to say ‘Oscars LIVE now.'”X user @TranceRevolved posted: “Hulu owes me a damn refund right about now. All that advertisement about streaming the #Oscars2025, only for the site to not work.”Disney said in a statement: “This evening, we experienced technical and live stream issues on Hulu which impacted some Oscars viewers. We apologize for the experience and will make a full replay of the event available as soon as possible.”What Happens NextDisney said on Sunday it would make a replay of the event available “as soon as possible.”ABC, owned by Disney, currently holds Oscars distribution rights until 2028.
