The Oscars Might Be Leaving ABC After Its 50th-Consecutive Ceremony

This year’s Oscars race is heating up, and it’s not just film-related trophies up for grabs.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, or AMPAS, has been searching for a new broadcasting agreement all year for the Academy Awards—and are willing to leave ABC to get what the organization wants.

A new report from Variety says that AMPAS is seeking a new 5-10 year deal on the broadcasting rights for the Oscars; the current deal with ABC will lapse in 2028, right after the 100th Academy Awards and the 50th consecutive ceremony aired on ABC.

This past summer, plenty of rumors about a streamer like Netflix or YouTube purchasing the rights popped up. According to the report, Netflix is no longer interested now that they’ve purchased Warner Bros. for $72 billion, nor is Skydance/CBS/Paramount, who is currently trying to lead its own hostile takeover bid of Warner Bros.

That leaves NBCUniversal as the most likely candidate to usurp the ceremony from ABC, given NBC’s recent success with live events (the recent Thanksgiving Day Parade, for example, set new viewership records) and Universal Pictures’ status as a perpetual Oscar contender.

YouTube is also still involved in trying to acquire the rights, the report says.

Meanwhile, ABC is still in the mix, although likely without as big of a wallet as some of its competitors thanks to the fact that the network just became of the home of the Grammy Awards for the next ten years, officially ending the long run of music’s biggest night over at CBS.